July 2026: Clean Power Delivers During Heatwaves
Clean energy saved the grid more than $170 million during the July 2026 heatwave.
America celebrated its 250th birthday amid one of the year’s most significant heatwaves. As extreme temperatures drove electricity demand to seasonal highs, wholesale power prices surged, and regional power systems relied heavily on expensive gas and coal peaking plants to maintain reliability. The grid was pushed to its limits in some areas, and nearly 400,000 households across the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast experienced power outages during some of the hottest hours of the year.
Across the areas most affected by the heatwave, wind and solar generation increased during the highest-demand hours compared to the days before and after the event, providing electricity when it was needed most. Markets with higher levels of clean energy experienced substantially lower wholesale electricity prices, while regions with relatively little clean generation experienced the highest prices despite having tens of gigawatts of clean energy waiting to connect to the grid.
To quantify the value of additional clean energy, ACP modeled a scenario in which advanced utility-scale solar, wind, offshore wind, and battery storage projects — totaling 74 GW — currently awaiting interconnection in MISO, PJM, NYISO, and ISO New England had already been operating.
The results were clear:
- More than $170 million in wholesale electricity cost savings during the July heatwave, thanks to clean power.
- Lower reliance on expensive gas, coal, and oil peaking generation.
- Improved system reliability, including avoiding modeled reliability shortfalls during the highest-demand hours.
- Lower wholesale electricity prices across every modeled region.
Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent, and electricity demand continues to rise. This analysis demonstrates that expanding clean power is not simply an emissions strategy — it is a reliability and affordability strategy. Bringing shovel-ready clean energy projects online faster would reduce consumer costs, strengthen grid reliability, and lessen dependence on the most expensive generating resources when Americans need electricity the most.
Resource updated 7/22/2026
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