EIA’s “Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory” report revealed that wind, solar, and battery technology would collectively account for 82% of the expected new utility-scale power capacity in the United States in 2023.
As of January 2023, the United States had a utility-scale solar capacity of 73.5 gigawatts (GW), equivalent to approximately 6% of the country’s total capacity.
The largest solar capacity in the US
However, solar energy accounts for slightly more than half of the new US generating capacity anticipated to come online in 2023, as noted by Electrek.
If everything goes according to plan, it will be the largest solar capacity created in the United States in a single calendar year.
It will also be the initial year in which solar capacity additions account for more than half of total capacity additions in the United States.
The United States had an installed wind capacity of 141.3 GW as of January 2023, representing approximately 12% of the country’s total capacity.
Additional 7.1 GW are scheduled for the year 2023. Several factors fuel the expansion, including new renewable energy targets, tax incentives, and falling construction costs for wind turbines.
US power capacity to increase
The total amount of battery power capacity in the United States is expected to increase by a factor of two due to this year’s planned addition of 8.6 GW of battery storage capacity to the grid.
Despite this, wind and solar power accounted for approximately 17% of utility-scale capacity in the United States in 2021. However, it only produced 12% of the country’s total electricity.
This discrepancy is due to variations in the amount of electricity that various types of power plants can generate.
The gap will be helped to be bridged by the implementation of remedies such as energy storage, intelligent grids, and the development of infrastructure.
See Also
- Tesla: South Australia (home Solar Power) is “the future”
- Solar & Storage generates power to sustain the grid’s stability
- 71% of new US power will be generated by solar and wind in 2022
- Sono Motors abandons the Sion Solar EV project to focus on B2B solar tech
- Florida recently received its biggest rooftop solar system
