US sets second quarter record for new clean power
Onshore wind, storage and solar all post strong numbers as industry benefits from subsidies and burgeoning demand
The US set a second quarter installation record with onshore wind, storage, and utility solar all posting strong numbers, as the industry benefits from generous federal subsidies and stronger customer demand, according to a report by the American Clean Power Association (ACP).
Developers installed 11GW of clean energy capacity, 91% more than the same 2023 period. This included 1.37GW of onshore wind, up 41% from a year ago; 6.71GW of solar, up 124% and a record for the quarter, while battery storage additions almost doubled to 2.93GW/10.43GWh from 1.51GW/5.09GWh.
Notable is that Texas dethroned California in the second quarter as the state with the most utility-scale solar capacity installed, 21.93GW versus 21.13GW. Texas did the same with onshore wind more than a decade ago.
“Clean energy is answering the call to unleash more American energy, with another record quarter of deployment,” said Jason Grumet, CEO of ACP.
“With rapidly growing demand and the need to make significant strides in decarbonising our economy, the stakes are high,” he added, noting, “Our recent progress is encouraging but the pace is not fast enough.”
The onshore wind result was particularly encouraging and represented the most additions since 2021, as the industry works to overcome multiple challenges including siting and permitting, supply chain issues, and long interconnection queue wait times.
While onshore installations are unlikely to surpass 7GW this year, consultants including BloombergNEF, S&P Global, and Wood Mackenzie see the market improving to 10GW and perhaps higher in 2025, and firming from there each year toward the end of this decade.
There was almost 4 GW more of land-based wind capacity in the pipeline in the second quarter versus the same period last year.
The US on 30 June had 152.64GW of onshore wind, 109.18GW of grid-scale solar, and 21.58GW/60.38GWh of battery storage. There is also 174MW of offshore wind capacity in commercial operation.
Looking ahead, the near-term project pipeline for grid-scale solar was 93.45GW, up from 85.32GW a year earlier, and 33.04GW for battery storage versus 21.06GW.
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