EIA: US added 12GW of solar PV in H1 2024

August 22, 2024
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Chart showing the electricity capacity additions from different technologies in the US in 2024
Utility-scale solar PV accounted for 59% of all capacity additions in the US in the first six months of 2024. Chart: EIA.

Solar PV has led capacity additions in the US during the first half of the year with 12GW.

According to data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) latest report “Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory”, solar PV accounted for 59% of all additions.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

All utility-scale technologies combined added 20.2GW in H1 2024, a 3.6GW increase from the same period a year ago. The EIA expects 42.6GW of capacity to be added in the second half of 2024, of which 25GW would come from utility-scale solar PV.

Solar PV could end 2024 with 37GW of new installed capacity, a record for a single year and doubling the numbers from 2023 when it added 18.8GW. Estimates from the EIA are only a gigawatt short of the predictions made by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie earlier this year. However, the estimates from the latter account for all markets of the solar industry – which includes residential, community solar and commercial and industrial – and not just utility-scale.

The two leading states for solar PV, Texas and California, accounted for 38% of solar additions during H1 2024. However, the largest project to come online during that period came from Nevada. With an installed PV capacity of 690MW, the Gemini solar-plus-storage project, developed and built by investment fund Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners and its subsidiary, independent power producer (IPP) Primergy Solar, was the largest project to come online in the US this year.

BESS: second-most additions in H1 24

The Gemini solar-plus-storage project was not only the largest solar PV project to come online in H1 2024, but also the largest battery energy storage system (BESS) one to come online with an output of 380MW. BESS accounted for the second-most capacity additions until the end of June 2024, with 4.2GW. Battery additions were concentrated in four US states, California (37% of all additions), Texas (24%), Arizona (19%) and Nevada (13%).

The EIA expects BESS to add 10.8GW of capacity in H2 2024 and could end up the year with a record installation of 15GW in a single year. Texas and California currently account for 81% of expected BESS capacity additions in H2 2024.

Similar to the Gemini project, the second largest BESS project to come online in the first half of 2024 is a solar-plus-storage. US utility Salt River Project (SRP) and Danish energy company Ørsted powered the Eleven Mile Solar Center project in Arizona earlier this year, with an installed solar capacity of 300MW and a BESS capacity of 300MW/1.2GWh. Prior to its completion, the companies had secured a power purchase agreement with social media and tech giant Meta.

Texas was home to the second largest PV project coming online during the first six months of 2024, with the 640MW Lumina solar plant. The project is owned by renewables developer Intersect Power, which has a 2.2GW solar PV operational portfolio.

21 October 2025
New York, USA
Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.
16 June 2026
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2027 and beyond.

Read Next

October 16, 2025
T1 Energy and Nextracker have agreed to use the latter’s steel module frames at the former’s new 5GW module manufacturing facility in Dallas.
October 16, 2025
US utility-scale solar additions grew by 56% in 2024, reaching 30GW from 2023’s 19GW and representing over 54% of all new electricity generation capacity added in the country last year.
October 15, 2025
The average price of a solar PPA signed in North America increased 4% between the second and third quarters of 2025, according to LevelTen.
October 15, 2025
Independent power producer (IPP) Geronimo has begun construction on it’s150MW solar project in Illinois and commissioned the 125MW PV project in Michigan.
October 15, 2025
The Australian government has approved the 141MW Forbes Solar Farm Project in New South Wales in just 19 days, marking one of the fastest environmental approvals on record in the country.
October 15, 2025
Australia has opened registrations for Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) Tender 7, which targets 5GW of renewable energy generation capacity across the National Electricity Market (NEM).

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 21, 2025
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK