Solar to account for 54% of new US electric-generating capacity in 2023

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Texas will house the most new solar capacity this year. Image: Getty.

Solar power will dominate new electric-generating capacity additions in the US this year, according to the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory

A total of 54.5GW of new utility-scale electric-generating capacity will be added to the US power grid this year. More than half of this will be solar power (54%), followed by battery storage (17%).

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

The EIA said that although US utility-scale solar capacity has been rising rapidly since 2010, it declined by 23% in 2022 year-on-year due to supply chain disruptions and other pandemic-related challenges. 

The EIA expects that some of the delayed 2022 projects would begin operating this year when developers plan to install 29.1GW of solar power in the US. If all of this capacity comes online as planned, this year will have the most utility-scale solar capacity added in a single year, breaking the 13.4GW record in 2021. 

Texas (7.7GW) will be the key state in terms of the most new solar capacity this year, followed by California (4.2). These two states account for 41% of planned new solar capacity. 

Image: EIA

Battery storage capacity will “likely more than double” as developers plan to add 9.4GW of battery storage to the existing 8.8GW of battery storage capacity.

The EIA said that 71% of the new battery storage capacity will be in California and Texas this year since both states boast significant solar and wind.

Image: EIA.

Utility-scale wind capacity will also grow this year. The EIA said that developers are planning to add 6GW of utility-scale wind capacity. However, additions have begun to slow, as there were more than 14GW of additions in both 2020 and 2021. Texas will house the most wind capacity this year at 2GW.

7 October 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
PV Tech has been running an annual PV CellTech Conference since 2016. PV CellTech USA, on 7-8 October 2025 is our third PV CellTech conference dedicated to the U.S. manufacturing sector. The events in 2023 and 2024 were a sell out success and 2025 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.
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

June 27, 2025
The UK government has decided it will not sign a Contract for Difference (CfD) with Xlinks for the 11.5GW Morroco-UK interconnector project.
June 27, 2025
Renewables investment platform Nexwell Power has signed a round of power purchase agreements (PPAs) with “one of the largest” US tech companies for solar PV capacity to be built in Spain.
June 26, 2025
A round-up of news from the US solar sector this week, including Akuo, Meta and RWE.
June 26, 2025
A group of minority shareholders in Norwegian silicon firm REC Silicon has triggered an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the closure of the company’s US polysilicon production site.
June 26, 2025
ACEN has partnered with UPC Renewables to build two renewable projects in Rajasthan and Karnataka, India. 
June 26, 2025
Nextracker will supply solar tracker systems to a 550MW solar PV project in the Greek province of Western Macedonia, owned by Greek renewables developer PPC Renewables.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Webinars
June 30, 2025
10am PST / 6pm BST
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
July 2, 2025
Bangkok, Thailand
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico