The US installed 11GW of solar in the first 10 months of 2023, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
FERC’s “Energy Infrastructure Update” report (with data through 31 October 2023), reveals that solar capacity additions during the first 10 months of 2023 were over a third (34.4%) larger than for the same period last year.
These additions brought utility-scale (>1MW) solar’s share of total available installed generating capacity in the US up to 7.3%, from 6.2%, based on the same period in 2022.
FERC’s data, which has been reviewed by the SUN DAY Campaign, reveals the solar capacity additions until 31 October 2023 surpassed the 9794MW of new natural gas (37.7%).
Other renewable energy sources have also experienced growth in the first 10 months of 2023.
Wind provided an additional 3748MW (14.4%).
With the inclusion of hydropower (228MW), geothermal (44MW), and biomass (32MW), the mix of renewable energy sources has accounted for the majority (57.7%) of new capacity added since last January.
In October alone, 33 new units of solar, totalling 976MW, came on-line.
While solar’s share of total installed US generating capacity trails wind (11.6%) it is closing the gap with hydropower (7.9%).
Taken together, the installed capacity of all renewable sources, including biomass (1.2%) and geothermal (0.3%), was 28.4% of the nation’s total at the end of the first 10 months of 2023 – up from 27% a year earlier.
Solar’s strong growth seems likely to continue.
FERC reports that “high probability” additions of solar between November 2023 and October 2026 total 87,733MW – an amount over four times more than the forecast net “high probability” additions for wind (19,952MW) and nearly 40 times greater than those projected for natural gas (2213MW).