Solar accounted for over 5% of US electricity generation in first 10 months of 2022

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Part of Macho Springs Solar, a 50MW PV plant in New Mexico. Image: El Paso Electric.

Solar energy accounted for over 5% of the total electricity generation in the US in the first 10 months of 2022 as solar output increased 26.23% year-to-date (YTD), according to data released by the US Energy Information Administration.

The data was reviewed in a report by non-profit research organisation the Sun Day Campaign, and showed that almost 23% of the US’ electricity was generated by renewable energy sources in the period January-October 2022. Total renewable electricity generation grew 14.3% in the last 12 months, whilst the total net generation increased by 3.14%.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

Solar saw by far the greatest growth in the period, increasing by over 26% and accounting for 5.05% of total electricity output, and in October alone solar output was 31.68% greater than the same time a year earlier. In March 2016 solar energy’s YTD generation reached 1% for the first time, since which time its monthly generation has increased almost six times over.

Wind energy provided 9.8% of the US’ total electricity generation, whilst hydropower and geothermal energies both accounted for just over 6%.

Over the ten-month period, combined renewable energies outperformed coal and nuclear generation by 16.62% and 27.39%, respectively, though natural gas maintains the lion’s share of generation with 39.4%.

Executive director of the Sun Day Campaign, Ken Bossong said: “As we begin 2023, it seems very likely that renewables will provide nearly a quarter – if not more – of the nation’s electricity during the coming year, and it is entirely possible that the combination of just wind and solar will outpace nuclear power and maybe even that of coal during the next twelve months.”   

Since the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) last year, the US has seen plans for 22GW of module and cell manufacturing facilities. September research by Wood Mackenzie found that the effects of the IRA may not be fully felt until 2024, as import tariffs and supply chain issues continue to plague the industry’s expansion.

25 April 2024
5pm BST (9am PDT)
The webinar will provide the very latest trends in PV module supply and what is important when assessing product quality and reliability. How many of the imported modules for example, from Southeast Asia and India, are based on n-type TOPCon and heterojunction now? What is important to look at when assessing these new technologies’ reliability?
21 May 2024
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 21-22 May 2024, will be our third 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 2025 and beyond.
8 October 2024
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
PV Tech has been running an annual PV CellTech Conference since 2016. PV CellTech USA, on 8-9 October 2024 is our second PV CellTech conference dedicated to the U.S. manufacturing sector. The event in 2023 was a sell out success and 2024 will once again gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing in the U.S. out to 2030 and beyond.
26 November 2024
Málaga, Spain
Understanding PV module supply to the European market in 2025. PV ModuleTech Europe 2024 is a two-day conference that tackles these challenges directly, with an agenda that addresses all aspects of module supplier selection; product availability, technology offerings, traceability of supply-chain, factory auditing, module testing and reliability, and company bankability.

Read Next

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
April 10, 2024
Dallas, Texas USA
Solar Media Events
April 17, 2024
Lisbon, Portugal
Solar Media Events
May 1, 2024
Dallas, Texas
Solar Media Events
May 21, 2024
Napa, USA