EIA: Wind, solar, and batteries increasingly account for more new US power capacity additions

Utility scale solar capacity did not start ramping up in the US until 2010. As the cost of solar panels dropped substantially and state and federal policies introduced generous tax incentives, solar capacity boomed. As of January 2023, 73.5 GW of utility scale solar capacity was operating in the US, approximately 6% of the US total.

Just over half of the new US generating capacity expected in 2023 is solar power. If all of the planned capacity comes online this year as expected, it will be the most US solar capacity added in a single year, and the first year that more than half of US capacity additions are solar.

Prior to 2000, US wind capacity was negligible. Similar to solar power, tax incentives, lower turbine construction costs, and new renewable energy targets helped fuel the growth of US wind capacity. As of January 2023, 141.3 GW of wind capacity was operating in the US, approximately 12% of the US total. Developers plan to add another 7.1 GW in 2023.

The majority of US wind capacity is located in the blustery, central part of the country, which also offers wide-open prairies that can accommodate large wind farms. Offshore wind farms along the country’s coastline offer significant potential for future wind capacity growth. This year, developers are planning one new offshore wind farm.

Wind and solar are intermittent sources of generation; they only produce electricity when the wind is blowing or the sun is shining. Because batteries can store electricity from wind and solar generators for later use, battery storage systems are increasingly installed with wind and solar projects. In 2023, developers plan to add 8.6 GW of battery storage power capacity to the grid, which would double total US battery power capacity.

Although significant renewable capacity has been added in the past decade, differences in the amount of electricity that different types of power plants can produce mean that wind and solar made up about 17% of the country’s utility scale capacity in 2021 but produced only 12% of its electricity.

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