US clean energy additions set to hit a record this year

The US is about to build more clean power than ever before. BloombergNEF released a report on Oct. 16 with the numbers. Developers will add a record 89 gigawatts of solar, wind, and storage this year. Even more is coming in 2027. Two forces are pushing that pace. Federal tax credits for clean energy are set to expire. And AI data centers' electricity needs are soaring.

The catch is what's happening alongside it. The same data-center boom driving the clean-energy rush is also pushing gas. BloombergNEF expects 67.8 more gigawatts of gas-fired power by 2030. Only 14.3 gigawatts of old gas plants are set to retire in that time. Clean energy isn't displacing fossil fuels here. Both are growing side by side. AI's power needs are bigger than either one alone can cover.

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What happens once the tax credits actually expire? This year's record pace is partly a rush to beat a deadline. It isn't proof that clean energy keeps winning on its own. Data-center demand may keep climbing after the credits are gone. If it does, gas could end up grabbing a bigger share of that growth. Bigger than solar and wind combined.