Research Digest

The 2026 Renewable Energy Landscape

Research Digest · Energy notes · 2026-09-14

Global installed solar photovoltaic capacity grew approximately 34% year over year through Q3 2026, according to preliminary tracker data compiled from IEA and IRENA disclosures. Utility-scale additions in China, India, and the United States accounted for the bulk of new nameplate capacity.

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Wind installations exceeded early-year projections, with offshore additions in Europe and East Asia leading regional totals. Battery storage co-located with generation reached record contract volumes, though supply-chain constraints on lithium iron phosphate cells introduced some deployment delays.

Grid interconnection queues remain the primary bottleneck in the United States and Germany, with average wait times exceeding 36 months for utility-scale projects in some ISOs. Policy responses vary: FERC Order 2023 implementation continues to reshape queue processing on the U.S. side, while EU Member States are advancing implementations of the revised Renewable Energy Directive.

On the demand side, corporate PPAs continued growing but shifted composition, with hyperscaler datacenter procurement accounting for a rising share of contracted volume. Nuclear PPAs (both existing and forthcoming SMR) also entered the corporate mix in a way that was not visible in 2024–2025 data.

Sources referenced