More than 10,800 K-12 schools across the United States now use solar energy, bringing installed school solar capacity to 2.4 GW as districts look to reduce electricity costs and increasingly pair generation with battery storage.
Generation180’s sixth edition of Brighter Future: The State of Solar and Battery Storage in U.S. K-12 Schools found that 10,840 schools have solar, representing about 9% of U.S. K-12 schools. More than 7 million students, or roughly one in seven nationwide, now attend a solar-powered school. The average school solar installation is 225 kW.
Generation180 said school solar capacity has more than tripled over the past decade. According to their new report, the current 2.4 GW fleet could produce electricity equivalent to the consumption of more than 450,000 U.S. homes.
Solar targets major school operating expense
The growth comes as school districts face significant utility expenses alongside broader pressure on facility budgets. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that K-12 districts spend nearly $8 billion annually on energy, making it their second-largest expense after teacher salaries. DOE estimates that a 20% improvement in efficiency could save schools about $2 billion annually.
Solar can help districts reduce or stabilize part of that expense over the long term. Generation180 highlighted Roanoke City Public Schools in Virginia, which expects its solar program to save $46.5 million in energy costs over 35 years.
“This report shows that school solar is no longer concentrated in just a few places,” said Tish Tablan, Senior Director of Generation180’s Electrify Our Schools program and lead report author. “Urban, suburban, and rural school districts across the country are using clean energy to reduce costs, improve facilities, and prepare students for the economy of the future.”
California maintains wide lead
State rankings for cumulative solar capacity in K-12 schools.
California remains the largest U.S. market for school solar, with 2,921 solar-powered K-12 schools and about 895 MW of cumulative capacity. New Jersey ranks second with 901 schools and roughly 310 MW, followed by New York with 701 schools and 167 MW. Illinois ranks fourth by number of solar schools with 659, followed by Arizona with 561. Massachusetts, Minnesota, Connecticut, Wisconsin and Florida complete the top 10.
The rankings look different when measured as a share of each state’s schools. Hawaii and Vermont lead the nation with solar at 30% of schools, followed by Connecticut at 29%, New Jersey at 27% and Washington, D.C., at 25%. California, despite its large absolute lead, has solar at 23% of its schools.
State rankings for number of solar-powered K-12 schools.
Growth is also spreading beyond the earliest school solar markets. From 2021 through 2025, California added 494 solar-powered schools, while New York added 318, New Jersey 219, Minnesota 194, and Illinois 153. Virginia added 111, while Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and Connecticut were also among the top 10 states for new installations.
Third-party ownership remains central
Generation180 found that third-party-owned systems account for 74% of school solar capacity for projects where ownership information was available. The category includes power purchase agreements, leases, energy service agreements and off-site community solar. Direct ownership, including projects financed with grants, bonds, loans and cash, accounts for 26%.
Third-party systems were also considerably larger, averaging 280 kW compared with 149 kW for directly owned installations. Generation180 cautioned, however, that it had ownership information for only about 57% of schools in the dataset.
Battery storage gains ground
The 2026 report also contains Generation180’s first national census of battery energy storage at K-12 schools. It identified 155 schools with batteries installed since 2016. Ninety-four have solar-plus-storage systems, while 61 have battery storage without solar. Despite recent growth, batteries are installed at only about 0.1% of U.S. K-12 schools. The figure marks a notable increase from the approximately 40 schools with storage that Generation180 had identified as of early 2024.
State rankings for battery energy storage systems (BESS) in K-12 schools.
California accounts for 109 of the 155 schools identified in the new census. Massachusetts ranks second with 10, followed by Oregon with seven, Hawaii with six, and Arkansas with three.
Recent projects show how schools are using storage for more than backup power. A 5 MW / 20 MWh battery microgrid serving school facilities in Wakefield, Massachusetts, is designed to provide power outage backup while also reducing peak electricity costs. Project developer Lightshift Energy said the system could save local utility customers up to $20 million over its operating life.
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