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US clean energy investment surges 22% in second quarter

Aug 13, 2026, 8:47am EDT
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Workers lift a solar panel onto a roof during a residential solar installation in Scripps Ranch, San Diego.
Mike Blake/Reuters

US clean energy and transportation investment reached $75 billion in the second quarter of 2026 — the second-highest quarterly figure on record and up 22% from the prior three-month period.

The results, published by the Clean Investment Monitor, were largely driven by retail investment, with residential battery storage installations, in particular, reaching $12 billion, double that of the first quarter, and coinciding with a long period of solar price decline.

Manufacturing investment also increased 4% compared to the last three-month period, breaking a six-quarter streak of consecutive declines, largely driven by the elimination of tax incentives following Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. However, while investment increased, project cancellations also rose by 4% from Q1, equivalent to $1.7 billion.

A chart showing US clean investment by quarter.
— Paige Bruton
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