For nearly a decade, wind and solar power kept getting cheaper. That streak has broken. As of the first quarter of 2026, the average US solar power purchase agreement costs $64.49 per megawatt-hour and the average wind contract costs $79.40 per megawatt-hour, both the highest figures LevelTen Energy has recorded since it began indexing the market in 2018. Wind prices are up roughly 24 percent year over year; solar prices are up more than 13 percent.
The rise does not reflect one cause. A July 2025 law accelerates the phase-out of federal tax credits that have underwritten renewable project economics for more than a decade. A January 2025 executive order paused federal permitting for onshore and offshore wind, slowing the pipeline of new projects. And hyperscale data center operators are signing long-dated clean power contracts at unprecedented volume. Tight supply met surging demand under a shifting rulebook, and buyers are paying the difference.