The United States witnessed a significant surge in solar installations during the first nine months of 2023, with the sector contributing 9924MW of new capacity, representing over 42% of the total new electricity generating capacity in the period. Data from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), analyzed by the SUN DAY Campaign, indicates a remarkable 32.8% increase in solar capacity additions compared to the same period last year.
FERC's latest monthly “Energy Infrastructure Update” report, covering data up to September 30, 2023, underscores the dominance of solar in the energy landscape. Solar additions outpaced new natural gas capacity, with solar providing 9924MW compared to 8962MW from natural gas. Additionally, solar capacity additions were nine times greater than the combined contribution of a new nuclear reactor (1100MW) in Georgia, along with oil (54MW) and waste heat (31MW).
Renewable energy sources, as a whole, exhibited robust growth in 2023, with wind contributing an additional 3062MW, representing 13.1% of new capacity. When combined with hydropower (224MW), geothermal (44MW), and biomass (30MW), renewables accounted for the majority (56.7%) of new capacity added since January.
In September alone, 24 new solar assets totaling 881MW came online, including notable projects like the 250MW Oberon Renewable Energy Project in Riverside County, California, and the 206MW Shakes Solar Project in Dimmit County, Texas.
The report highlights the rising prominence of utility-scale solar, which now constitutes 7.3% of total available installed generating capacity in the US, up from 6.1% a year earlier. While solar capacity still trails wind (11.6%), it is closing in on hydropower (7.9%).
Collectively, the installed capacity of all renewable sources, including biomass (1.2%) and geothermal (0.3%), reached 28.3% of the nation's total at the end of the first nine months of 2023, up from 27% in the same period a year earlier.
