New US solar capacity additions have edged past natural gas in 2023

Solar capacity has grown faster in US electrical generation than all other energy sources in the first three quarters of 2023, according to new data from FERC. 

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s latest monthly “Energy Infrastructure Update” report (with data through September 30, 2023), which was reviewed by the SUN DAY campaign, reveals that solar provided 9,924 megawatts (MW) of new US generating capacity, or 42.4% of the total.

Moreover, solar capacity additions during the first nine months of this year were almost a third (32.8%) larger year-over-year.

The new solar capacity additions edged past the 8,962 MW of new natural gas (38.2%) and were nine times greater than that provided by the new 1,100 MW Vogtle-3 nuclear reactor (4.7%) in Georgia. Solar far outpaced oil (54 MW) and waste heat (31 MW) capacity additions.

Other renewable energy sources have also grown in capacity this year. Wind provided an additional 3,062 MW (13.1%). With the inclusion of hydropower (224 MW), geothermal (44 MW), and biomass (30 MW), the mix of renewable energy sources has accounted for the majority (56.7%) of new capacity added since January.

While solar’s share of total installed US generating capacity still trails wind (11.6%), it’s rapidly closing in on that of hydropower (7.9%). Taken together, the installed capacity of all renewable sources, including biomass (1.2%) and geothermal (0.3%), was 28.3% of the US’s total at the end of the first nine months of 2023 – up from 27% a year earlier.

Solar’s strong growth is likely to continue. FERC reports that “high-probability” additions of solar between October 2023 and September 2026 total 85,657 MW. That’s four times the amount of the forecast net “high probability” additions for wind (20,333 MW), and more than 20 times greater than those projected for natural gas (4,150 MW).

“In the aftermath of the 1973 Arab oil embargo 50 years ago, virtually no thought was given to solar as a future energy resource,” noted the SUN DAY Campaign’s executive director, Ken Bossong. “But now, along with wind and other renewable energy sources, it’s leading the nation’s transition away from nuclear power and fossil fuels to a cleaner and safer energy future.” 

Read more: The world may be on track for tripling renewables – and that’s what we need

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