{"slug":"solar-carport","date":"2026-10-07","channel":"energy","layout":"number","title":"US solar capacity hit 228 GW by July 2026, nearly 7x its 2016 level","dek":"Six Flags' 12.37 MW carport is large for a carport but tiny next to the 34 GW the US added in 2025.","body":["Electrek reports that Six Flags Magic Mountain has built a 12.37 MW solar carport over its parking lots in Valencia, California, with 22,908 panels, 109 EV charging connectors and a 2 MW / 8 MWh battery. Six Flags expects about 20.8 million kWh a year.","In EIA estimates, US solar capacity grew from 33.0 GW at the end of 2016 to 209.3 GW at the end of 2025, and 228.2 GW by July 2026. Utility-scale plants account for 165.3 GW of that and small-scale systems, mostly rooftops, for 62.8 GW. The US added about 34 GW in 2025 alone, so the carport equals roughly 1/2,750th of one year's additions.","Carports matter less for megawatts than for where the power lands: parking lots are already paved, close to demand and next to EV chargers."],"facts":[{"label":"US solar PV, July 2026 (EIA)","value":"228.2 GW"},{"label":"US solar PV, end of 2016","value":"33.0 GW"},{"label":"Added in 2025 (EIA)","value":"about 34.0 GW"},{"label":"Six Flags carport (per Electrek)","value":"12.37 MW"}],"chart":{"type":"stacked-bars","title":"US solar PV capacity, utility-scale and small-scale","unit":"GW (net summer, AC)","x":["2016","2017","2018","2019","2020","2021","2022","2023","2024","2025","Jul 2026"],"series":[{"name":"Utility-scale","values":[20.2,25.2,30.1,35.7,46.3,60.1,71.4,90.5,122.1,149.8,165.3]},{"name":"Small-scale (estimated)","values":[12.8,16.1,19.5,23.2,27.6,33.1,39.8,47.8,53.2,59.5,62.8]}]},"sources":[{"name":"EIA Electric Power Monthly, Table 6.1.A (data for July 2026, released 2026-09-24)","url":"https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=table_6_01_a","licence":"public domain (US government)","captured":"2026-10-07","class":"primary"},{"name":"Electrek on Six Flags solar carport","url":"https://electrek.co/2026/10/05/six-flags-has-installed-one-of-the-largest-solar-carports-in-the-us/","licence":"news report, figures quoted not reproduced","captured":"2026-10-07","class":"published-report"}],"news":[{"title":"Six Flags has installed one of the largest solar carports in the US","source":"Electrek","url":"https://electrek.co/2026/10/05/six-flags-has-installed-one-of-the-largest-solar-carports-in-the-us/","published":"2026-10-05"}],"caveats":["Values are net summer capacity in AC megawatts, rounded here to 0.1 GW; 2025 and 2026 figures are preliminary per EIA. Year columns are end-of-year totals; the last column is end of July 2026.","Small-scale solar (under 1 MW) is an EIA estimate from surveys EIA-861M and EIA-861, not a census.","A 12.37 MW commercial carport is likely counted as utility-scale or small-scale depending on how it is reported; the EIA table does not identify individual projects. The 1/2,750 comparison is against capacity added, not a share of the fleet.","Whether it is 'one of the largest' US carports rests on Six Flags' and Electrek's claim; no open dataset of carports was checked."],"photo":{"credit":"Kindel Media / Pexels","licence":"Pexels","page":"https://www.pexels.com/photo/aerial-footage-of-solar-panels-9799731/","alt":"Aerial view of solar panels on a parking lot roof, showcasing renewable energy.","src1280":"/media/briefs/solar-carport-1280.avif","bytes1280":131074,"w":1280,"h":960,"src640":"/media/briefs/solar-carport-640.avif","bytes640":36240,"originalBytes":574354},"og":"/media/briefs/solar-carport-og.png","ogBytes":12241,"indexable":true,"gateNotes":[],"url":"https://tecntrend.com/briefs/2026-10-07/solar-carport","licence":"Text and chart CC BY 4.0 Tec N Trend; underlying data per source licence"}