U.S. small-scale solar adds 1.6 GW in Q2 2026 as fossil fuel capacity surges

Small-scale solar — the rooftop and local systems installed on homes, businesses, and communities — added almost 1.6 gigawatts of new capacity in the second quarter of 2026, according to a report from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Combined with large utility-scale solar farms, solar made up 55% of all new electricity generating capacity added to the U.S. grid in that quarter. That share is smaller than in recent quarters, mainly because fossil fuel power plants came online at a faster pace, with Q2 seeing more new fossil capacity than any quarter in the past two years.

Even so, small-scale solar kept growing steadily, partly because home and local installations avoid the long waits that big power plants face when connecting to the grid. Alongside solar, battery storage paired with these systems grew quickly too, with more than 2.5 gigawatt-hours of storage added at homes, businesses, and community sites in the quarter. Much of this pairing is tied to changes in net metering, the billing system that credits solar owners for power sent back to the grid. Many of these policies now reward homeowners more for using and storing their own solar power rather than exporting it, making battery storage a more attractive add-on for anyone considering solar.

For homeowners weighing a solar installation, the trend suggests that pairing panels with a home battery is becoming more common and, in many areas, more financially worthwhile under current net metering rules. Rules vary by state, so it is worth checking what applies where you live.