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Solar & Battery Power to Dominate 2024: 81% of New U.S. Electric-Generating Capacity
In 2024, developers and power plant owners are gearing up to introduce a substantial 62.8 gigawatts (GW) of new utility-scale electric-generating capacity, marking a robust 55% increase compared to the 40.4 GW added in 2023. This surge reflects a continuing uptick in industry activity, with solar and battery storage leading the charge.
Breaking it down, solar energy is expected to claim the lion's share, contributing 58% of the new capacity, closely followed by battery storage at 23%.
Solar Surge: Anticipating a groundbreaking addition of 36.4 GW to the grid in 2024, utility-scale solar is on track to set a new record, nearly doubling last year's 18.4 GW increase. Despite supply chain challenges and trade restrictions, solar remains at the forefront, outpacing other generating resources in capacity additions.
More than half of the planned utility-scale solar capacity will be concentrated in three states: Texas (35%), California (10%), and Florida (6%). A standout in this lineup is the Gemini solar facility in Nevada, poised to become the largest solar project in the U.S. upon full operation, with a planned photovoltaic capacity of 690 megawatts (MW) and an accompanying 380 MW battery storage.
Battery Storage Booming: 2024 is expected to witness a record-breaking surge in battery storage capacity, nearly doubling from the existing 15.5 GW to an impressive 29.8 GW. Developers have ambitious plans, aiming to add 14.3 GW of battery storage this year, following a 70% annual increase in 2023.
Texas and California are the frontrunners in this battery storage boom, accounting for 82% of the new U.S. capacity. The Menifee Power Bank in Riverside, California, scheduled to start operating in 2024, adds 460.0 MW to this surge. The demand for battery storage is rising in tandem with the increase in solar and wind capacity in the United States, further fueled by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) introducing investment tax credits (ITCs) for stand-alone storage.
Other Players: Wind energy, while adding 8.2 GW in 2024, has seen a slowdown in capacity additions compared to the record years of 2020 and 2021. Offshore wind projects, Vineyard Wind 1 off the coast of Massachusetts (800 MW) and South Fork Wind off the coast of New York (130 MW), are scheduled to come online this year.
Natural gas, with only 2.5 GW in planned capacity additions for 2024, sees the least new capacity in 25 years. Interestingly, 79% of this added natural gas capacity comes from simple-cycle, natural gas turbine (SCGT) plants, a shift from the usual dominance of combined-cycle capacity.
Nuclear power makes its mark with the start-up of the fourth reactor (1.1 GW) at Georgia’s Vogtle nuclear power plant, now scheduled for March 2024 after delays.
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| Data source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory, December 2023 |
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