Solar has become the largest source of energy for new capacity installed in the U.S. in the first five months, and there is a “high probability” that nearly 90 gigawatts of new solar projects will be added to the generating capacity over the next three years.
According to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) “Energy Infrastructure Update” for May 2024, 251 new solar“units” in the U.S. came on line from January through May of this year, totaling 10,669 MW of installed capacity.
New additions were well ahead of wind, which came in second with 13 new “units” and a total installed capacity of 2,095 MW, followed by natural gas (23 units and 348 MW of new capacity).
In the first five months of 2024, installed capacity in the U.S. increased by 14,435 MW, which means that new solar capacity accounted for about 74% of the total increase in installed capacity.
In May, 50 new solar projects totaling 2,517 MW of capacity were commissioned, ahead of wind (277 MW, 2 units), hydro (211 MW, 2 units) and natural gas (184 MW, 9 units). Solar accounted for 79% of the new capacity installed in the US during the month.
Compared to the same period last year, installed solar capacity installed in the U.S. from January through May 2023 increased by 118%, from 4,885 MW in the same period in 2023 to 10,669 MW in the same period in 2024.
The U.S. added 4,557MW of installed solar capacity in the first quarter of 2024, bringing the total to more than 100GW, according to trade body American Council for Clean Energy (ACP).
According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie, the U.S. has 32.4GWdc of solar installed in 2023, a 51% year-over-year increase, with record installations in every market segment except community solar.
According to FERC, the largest solar project added in the first five months of the year was the 325MW AEUG Union solar project in Ohio. The state is also home to another large solar PV project that came online during the same period - the 300MW Highland Solar PV plant. In terms of installed size, the U.S. market is also gradually gaining breakthroughs with larger and larger large plant PV projects.
At the end of May 2024, installed solar capacity in the US reached 113.84GW, accounting for 8.78% of the total generating capacity of 1,296.08GW. Solar is the second largest source of renewable electricity generation in the United States, after wind (152.6GW, 11.77% of total generation capacity).
Additions and retirements between 2024 and 2027
In the same update, 951 solar projects are expected to become “high probability additions” between June 2024 and May 2027, totaling 89,951 MW of capacity.
This installed capacity will account for 69.8% of the new capacity added in the U.S., and will far exceed the new capacity added by wind (23,532 MW) and natural gas (14,127 MW) combined.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects U.S. project developers to add 36.4GW of installed solar power capacity throughout 2024, accounting for 58% of all new capacity added to the U.S. power sector.
The study also examined the retirement of generation resources. By June 2027, 99 MW of capacity from nine solar projects is expected to be retired, representing only 0.27% of the installed capacity retired during the June 2024 to May 2027 period.
Source: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/KmMv05-Lium7YHV-uf7nPg
