Renewable power sources accounted for greater than 90% of recent electrical producing capability added in the US in 2024 — photo voltaic alone accounted for over 81%.
Particularly for the month of December 2024, renewables had been 86.9% of recent producing capability. In its newest month-to-month “Energy Infrastructure Update” report, FERC says 105 “models” of photo voltaic totaling 4,369 MW had been positioned into service in December together with two models of wind (324 MW) and two models of biomass (45 MW). Pure gasoline offered the steadiness: 717 MW.
Through the full 2024 calendar yr, photo voltaic and wind added 30,816 MW and three,128 MW, respectively. Mixed with 213 MW of hydropower, 51 MW of biomass, and 29 MW of geothermal steam, renewables had been 90.5% of capability added for the yr. The steadiness consisted of the 1,100 Vogtle-4 nuclear reactor in Georgia plus 2,428 MW of pure gasoline, 13 MW of coal, 11 MW of oil, and 28 MW categorized as “different.”
Photo voltaic accounted for 81.5% of all new producing capability positioned into service in 2024 – 50% greater than the photo voltaic capability added in 2023. In December alone, photo voltaic comprised 80.1% of all new capability added. New photo voltaic capability added in 2024 is nearly nine-times that added by pure gasoline and nuclear energy mixed. Photo voltaic has now been the most important supply of recent producing capability added every month for 16 months straight: September 2023-December 2024.
Adjusting for the variations in capability elements amongst photo voltaic, nuclear energy and pure gasoline, the SUN DAY Marketing campaign has decided that the brand new photo voltaic capability added in 2024 is prone to generate seven-times as a lot electrical energy as the brand new nuclear capability and about five-times as a lot as is perhaps anticipated from the brand new pure gasoline capability.
New wind accounted for a lot of the steadiness (8.3%) of capability additions in 2024, which is greater than both the brand new pure gasoline capability (6.4%) or nuclear energy capability (2.9%). Taken collectively, the put in capacities of simply photo voltaic (10.2%) and wind (11.7%) now represent greater than one-fifth (21.9%) of the nation’s complete obtainable put in utility-scale producing capability. Nonetheless, roughly 30% of U.S. photo voltaic capability is within the type of small-scale/DG techniques that isn’t mirrored in FERC’s information.
Together with that extra photo voltaic capability would carry the share offered by photo voltaic and wind nearer to one-quarter of the nation’s complete. With the inclusion of hydropower (7.7%), biomass (1.1%) and geothermal (0.3%), renewables now declare a 31.0% share of complete U.S. utility-scale producing capability. If small-scale photo voltaic capability is included, renewables at the moment are about one-third of complete U.S. producing capability.
The newest capability additions have introduced photo voltaic’s share of complete obtainable put in utility-scale producing capability as much as 10.2%, additional increasing its lead over nuclear energy (7.8%) in addition to hydropower (7.7%). Put in utility-scale photo voltaic has now moved into fourth place — behind pure gasoline (43.0%), coal (15.3%) and wind (11.7%) — for its share of producing capability.
FERC reviews that internet “excessive chance” additions of photo voltaic between January 2025 and December 2027 complete 91,558-MW — an quantity virtually four-times the forecast internet “excessive chance” additions for wind (23,601 MW), the second quickest rising useful resource. FERC additionally foresees progress for hydropower (1,345 MW), geothermal (90 MW), and biomass (61 MW).
Taken collectively, the web new “excessive chance” capability additions by all renewable power sources would complete 116,655 MW with photo voltaic comprising over 78% and wind offering one other 20%. However, there isn’t any new nuclear capability in FERC’s three-year forecast whereas coal, oil, and pure gasoline are projected to contract by 23,925 MW, 2,293 MW, and 833 MW, respectively.
If FERC’s present “excessive chance” additions materialize, by January 1, 2028, photo voltaic will account for almost one-sixth (16.1%) of the nation’s put in utility-scale producing capability. That might be higher than both coal or wind (each 12.6%) and considerably greater than both nuclear energy or hydropower (each 7.3%). In actual fact, assuming present progress charges proceed, the put in capability of utility-scale photo voltaic is prone to surpass coal and wind inside the subsequent two years, inserting photo voltaic in second place for put in producing capability — behind solely pure gasoline.
“For greater than a decade, renewable power sources — led by photo voltaic — have dominated progress in U.S. producing capability,” famous the SUN DAY Marketing campaign’s govt director Ken Bossong. “Consequently, efforts by the Trump Administration to reverse this pattern are each illogical and prone to fail.”
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