Renewables produced 24% of US’s energy in first 10 months of 2024

In his last monthly magazine “Energy Infrastructure Update” (with data up to and including October 31, 2024)FERC says 41 “units” of solar power, totaling 1,970 MW, were put into service in October, along with three units of wind power (174 MW). Combined, they accounted for 99.9% of all new production capacity added during the month. Natural gas provided the balance: only 3 MW.

During the first ten months of 2024, solar and wind energy added 21,425 MW and 2,799 MW respectively. Combined with 213 MW of hydropower and 6 MW of biomass, renewable energy sources made up almost 90.5% of the added capacity. The remainder consisted of the 1,100 Vogtle-4 nuclear reactor in Georgia plus 1,456 MW of gas, 11 MW of oil and 8 MW of ‘other’.

Solar represented 92% of new capacity in October and 79% during the first ten months of 2024:

Solar accounted for 79.3% of all new utility-scale generation commissioned in the first ten months of 2024. In October alone, solar represented 91.8% of all new capacity added.

New wind capacity YTD accounted for most of the balance: 10.4% through October.

Solar capacity expansion through the end of October was 80.5% higher than the same period in 2023. Meanwhile, new natural gas capacity was less than one-sixth (15.3%) of the capacity added last year.

Solar has now been the largest source of new generation capacity for fourteen months in a row: from September 2023 to October 2024. For most of those months, wind was in second place.

Solar and wind energy now make up more than 21% of US generating capacity:

The combined capacity of just solar and wind now makes up more than one-fifth (21.2%) of the country’s total available installed utility-scale generation capacity.

However, roughly a third of U.S. solar capacity consists of small-scale systems (e.g., rooftops), which is not reflected in FERC’s data. If you include that extra solar capacity, the share of solar and wind energy would be closer to a quarter of the national total.

Solar energy’s share of U.S. generating capacity puts the country in fourth place, as it surpasses nuclear and hydropower:

The latest capacity expansions have brought solar’s share of total available installed utility-scale generation capacity to 9.5%, further expanding its lead over hydropower (7.7%). The wind is currently at 11.8%. With the addition of biomass (1.1%) and geothermal energy (0.3%), renewable energy now exceeds 30% – 30.37% to be precise – of total U.S. utility-scale generation capacity.

Installed utility-scale solar has now risen to fourth place – behind natural gas (43.3%), coal (15.5%) and wind – in terms of share of generation capacity, having previously surpassed that of nuclear energy (7. had exceeded 9%).

Solar energy will soon become the second largest source of U.S. generating capacity:

FERC reports that net “high probability” additions of solar energy increased to 93,803 MW between October 2024 and September 2027 – an amount more than four times the forecast net “high probability” additions for wind energy (23,261 MW ), the second fastest growing resource.

FERC also projects growth for hydropower (1,316 MW), biomass (164 MW) and geothermal (90 MW). On the other hand, there is no new nuclear capacity in FERC’s three-year forecast, while coal, oil, and natural gas are expected to shrink by 19,863 MW, 2,244 MW, and 90 MW, respectively.

If FERC’s current “high probability” additions materialize, solar will account for nearly one-sixth (15.5%) of the nation’s installed generating capacity by October 1, 2027. That would be greater than coal (13.0%) or wind energy (12.6%) and substantially more than nuclear energy (7.4%) or hydropower (7.3%). The installed capacity of utility-scale solar would thus rise to second place – behind only natural gas (40.3%).

Meanwhile, the mix of all renewable energy sources would account for 36.7% of the total available installed utility-scale generating capacity – quickly approaching that of natural gas – with solar and wind energy accounting for more than three-quarters (76.5%) of the installed renewable energy sources would matter. energy capacity.

It seems likely that the combined capacity of all renewable energy sources, including small-scale solar energy, will exceed natural gas within three years:

As noted, FERC data does not take into account the capacity of small-scale solar systems. With that factored in, total U.S. solar capacity (i.e. small-scale plus utility-scale) will likely approach – and very possibly even exceed – 300 GW within three years. In turn, the mix of all renewable energy sources would then exceed 40% of the total installed capacity, while the share of natural gas would drop to around 37%.

Additionally, FERC reports that there is actually a whopping 213,902 MW of net new solar in the current three-year pipeline, in addition to 66,094 MW of new wind, 7,123 MW of new hydro, 235 MW of new biomass, and 199 MW of new solar. new geothermal energy. In addition, new solar capacity regularly exceeded FERC forecasts. So the share of renewable energy could be even higher by early autumn 2027.

Solar energy remains the fastest growing source of electricity generation in the US:

In its latest monthly ‘Electric Power Monthly’ report (with data up to October 31, 2024), EIA says that the combination of large-scale and ‘estimated’ small-scale (e.g. on rooftops) solar energy increased by 26.3 in the first ten months % has increased. of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.

Utility-scale solar thermal and photovoltaic has grown by 30.8% in the past ten months (and by 37.8% in October), while small-scale solar PV has increased by 15.8%, boosting solar has become – again – the fastest growing source of the US economy. electrical generation.

In perspective, between January and October, natural gas grew 4.1% and nuclear grew just 0.7%, while coal shrank 4.0%.

Small-scale solar (i.e., systems <1 MW) accounted for 27.9% of all solar generation and provided 2% of U.S. electricity supply in the first ten months of this year.

Together, utility and small-scale solar represented 7.2% of total U.S. electricity generation during the ten-month period and 7.7% in October alone.

Renewables provided 24% of US electricity generation in the first ten months of 2024:

The combination of wind and solar energy provided 17.2% of the country’s electricity generation in the first ten months of 2024.

Between January and October, electricity generation from the mix of all renewable energy sources (i.e. solar and wind, plus hydro, biomass and geothermal energy) grew by 9.0% compared to the same period a year earlier and provided 24.2% of the total production. That share rose to 25.5% in October alone. By comparison, renewable energy sources accounted for 22.9% of electricity production in the first ten months of 2023 and 23.1% in October last year.

“Calendar year 2024 has proven to be a period of remarkable growth in renewable energy sources, especially solar energy,” said Ken Bossong, executive director of the SUN DAY Campaign. “The question now is whether they will continue that growth in 2025 or whether the new Trump administration will have a negative impact on that.”

News item from the SUN DAY campaign