Exclusive: Clean energy deals on track for "biggest year ever"
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Corporations are poised to buy more clean energy this year than ever before, driven by the AI boom and a rush to secure expiring tax credits, according to a new report shared exclusively with Axios.
Why it matters: The surge underscores the enduring influence of corporate demand on the clean energy market — and the resilience of cleantech investment even after President Trump rolled back federal support.
Driving the news: Companies contracted 13.4 gigawatts of clean energy capacity in the first quarter of 2026 alone, according to the Corporate Energy Buyers Association's annual report.
- That exceeds the total contracted during all of 2021.
"It's hard to imagine this won't be our biggest year ever," Rich Powell, CEO of the association, told Axios ahead of the report's release Tuesday at the group's annual gathering in Seattle.
Reality check: The first half of 2026 may prove unusually strong because developers are racing to qualify projects for expiring wind and solar tax credits under Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
- To qualify, projects must either begin construction by July 4 or enter operation by the end of 2027.
Friction point: Reflecting changing political times, this group even changed its name in March from "Clean" Energy Buyers Association to "Corporate."
- But the group still doesn't count conventional natural gas — cleaner than coal but still a fossil fuel — as "clean," Powell said.
What we're watching: Powell said growth is expected to continue even after those deadlines, increasingly driven by what the industry calls "clean, firm" power — including advanced nuclear, geothermal and natural gas paired with carbon capture.
- Contracting for those technologies in the first quarter alone is already nearing the total "clean, firm" power for all of 2025, Powell said.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with the correct name of the Corporate Energy Buyers Association.
