Renewables carried much of US power demand growth in summer 2026

01The Story新闻事实

Record heat, air-conditioning use and data-center demand tested the US power system in summer 2026. Across major markets, renewable generation grew faster than electricity demand, limiting the increase in fossil-fuel generation; Texas, California and PJM all recorded significant solar gains.2026年夏季，创纪录高温、空调使用和数据中心需求共同考验了美国电力系统。在主要电力市场，可再生能源发电增速超过电力需求增速，限制了化石燃料发电的增加；得州、加州和PJM市场的太阳能发电均显著增长。

ERCOT load grew by roughly 4% in the first nine months of 2026 from the same period in 2025, while clean-power generation rose by more than 11%.2026年前九个月，ERCOT负荷较2025年同期增长约4%，而清洁电力发电量增长超过11%。
In ERCOT, solar generation increased by roughly 26%, wind output rose by more than 8%, and fossil-fuel generation grew by less than 1%.在ERCOT，太阳能发电量增长约26%，风电发电量增长超过8%，化石燃料发电量增长不足1%。
ERCOT solar generation in July and August accounted for more than 18% of total system generation.7月和8月，ERCOT太阳能发电量占该系统总发电量的比例超过18%。
California solar farms supplied around one-third of utility-supplied power from May through August.5月至8月，加州太阳能电站约占公用事业供电量的三分之一。
In PJM, clean-power generation grew by around 2.5% from January through September, compared with around 1.2% growth in overall demand; gas-fired generation rose 0.4%.1月至9月，PJM清洁电力发电量增长约2.5%，整体电力需求增长约1.2%；燃气发电量增长0.4%。

The 2026 summer test suggests that renewables can absorb much of rising US electricity demand while natural gas remains a balancing resource and coal loses market share.2026年夏季的考验表明，可再生能源能够满足美国不断增长的大部分电力需求，同时天然气继续承担调节作用，煤炭的市场份额则持续承压。

024 Dimensions维度分析

Comparison对比

Texas: demand growth outpaced by clean power得州：清洁电力增速超过需求增长

Texas combined strong electricity-demand growth with rapid expansion in solar and wind generation. This limited the increase in fossil-fuel output despite consumption reaching all-time highs.得州电力需求强劲增长的同时，太阳能和风电发电量也快速增加。尽管用电量达到历史最高水平，化石燃料发电量的增幅仍受到限制。

ERCOT load growthERCOT负荷增幅

January–September 2026 vs same period in 20252026年1月至9月，对比2025年同期4 %

January–September 2026 vs same period in 20252026年1月至9月，对比2025年同期26 %

January–September 2026 vs same period in 20252026年1月至9月，对比2025年同期1 %

ERCOT clean-power generation rose by more than 11%, exceeding load growth of roughly 4%.ERCOT清洁电力发电量增长超过11%，高于约4%的负荷增幅。

Consequence影响推演

Solar is aligning with summer stress periods太阳能发电与夏季电网压力时段更加匹配

Strong solar production increasingly overlaps with hot-afternoon air-conditioning demand. Battery storage can extend daytime solar output into the evening, when demand remains elevated.太阳能发电高峰正越来越多地与炎热下午的空调需求重合。电池储能可以把白天的太阳能发电延伸至需求仍处于高位的晚间。

ERCOT solar share in July and AugustERCOT 7月和8月太阳能发电占比

July–August 20262026年7月至8月18 % of total generation, more than

May–August, compared with 2.9% in 20255月至8月；2025年为2.9%4.4 % of generation

California solar farms supplied around one-third of utility-supplied power from May through August.5月至8月，加州太阳能电站提供了约三分之一的公用事业供电量。

Stakeholder impact利益相关方

PJM offers a data-center demand casePJM展现数据中心需求下的电力增长模式

PJM includes northern Virginia, a major US data-center cluster. Its clean-generation growth exceeded overall demand growth, while fossil-fuel generation increased only modestly.PJM覆盖美国主要数据中心集群所在地北弗吉尼亚。该市场清洁电力发电量增速超过整体需求增速，而化石燃料发电量仅小幅增加。

PJM clean-power generation growthPJM清洁电力发电量增幅

January–September 2026 vs same months in 20252026年1月至9月，对比2025年同期月份2.5 %

January–September 2026 vs same months in 20252026年1月至9月，对比2025年同期月份1.2 %

January–September 2026 vs same months in 20252026年1月至9月，对比2025年同期月份0.4 %

PJM solar output expanded by more than 20% year over year.PJM太阳能发电量同比增长超过20%。

Consequence影响推演

Gas remains flexible while coal is squeezed天然气保持灵活性，煤炭承受双重挤压

The source says renewables are taking more market share from coal than from natural gas. Gas plants remain useful for balancing variable renewable output, while coal plants are less flexible.报道称，可再生能源从煤炭手中夺取的市场份额多于从天然气手中夺取的份额。燃气电厂仍适合平衡可再生能源发电的波动，而煤电机组灵活性较低。

Gas-fired generation remains a vital component of the power mix and provides flexibility for balancing renewable output.燃气发电仍是电力结构的重要组成部分，并可为平衡可再生能源发电提供灵活性。
Coal plants generally take longer than gas plants to ramp up and down.煤电机组通常比燃气电厂需要更长时间提高或降低出力。

Key takeaway核心结论

The 2026 summer data indicate that US renewables supplied most incremental electricity in several major markets without a comparable rise in fossil-fuel generation.2026年夏季的数据表明，在美国多个主要电力市场，可再生能源满足了新增电力需求的大部分，而化石燃料发电并未出现相应幅度的增长。

04What to Watch后续关注

Whether continued data-center construction causes electricity demand to grow faster than renewable additions.数据中心持续建设是否会使电力需求增速超过可再生能源新增装机和发电量增速。
How much additional generation, transmission and storage capacity US utilities add.美国公用事业公司将新增多少发电、输电和储能能力。
Whether battery storage increasingly extends solar output into high-demand evening hours.电池储能是否会越来越多地将太阳能发电延伸至需求高峰的晚间时段。
Whether natural gas continues providing balancing flexibility as renewables expand.随着可再生能源扩张，天然气是否会继续提供电力系统所需的调节灵活性。

05Uncertainties不确定因素

The source notes that reliability concerns are unlikely to disappear, and gas-fired generation remains important to the power mix.来源指出，电力可靠性方面的担忧不太可能消失，燃气发电仍是电力结构的重要组成部分。
The analysis covers selected major US power markets and does not establish that every regional grid experienced the same trend.该分析涵盖美国部分主要电力市场，并未表明所有地区电网都出现了相同趋势。
The article is a Reuters column and states that the opinions expressed are those of the author.文章属于路透社专栏，并声明文中观点仅代表作者本人。

06Sources信息来源

Renewables help US power system survive summer stress test | ReutersRenewables help US power system survive summer stress test | Reuters Reuters · 2026-10-06

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