Solar will make up more than half of new U.S. electric generating capacity additions in 2023, according to the latest analysis from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Developers plan to add 54.5 GW of new utility-scale electric-generating capacity to the U.S. grid in 2023, according to EIA’s Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory. More than half of this capacity will be solar power (54%), followed by battery storage (17%).
While utility-scale solar additions declined by 23% in 2022 from 2021, EIA cited supply chain disruptions and other pandemic-related challenges. The agency expects some of those delayed 2022 projects to begin operating in 2023, with total solar capacity installments potentially reaching 29.1 GW in 2023.
If all of this capacity comes online as planned, EIA said 2023 will have the most new utility-scale solar capacity added in a single year, more than doubling the current record (13.4 GW in 2021). Texas (7.7 GW) and California (4.2 GW), together account for 41% of planned new solar capacity.
EIA also expects 71% of new battery storage capacity to be in California and Texas. The agency projects the total U.S. battery capacity adds to more than double in 2023. Developers reported to EIA they plan to add 9.4 GW of battery storage to the existing 8.8 GW of battery storage capacity.
Developers plan to build 7.5 GW of new natural-gas fired capacity in 2023, 83% of which is from combined-cycle plants. The two largest natural gas plants expected to come online in 2023 are the 1,224 MW Guernsey Power Station in Ohio and the 1,214 MW CPV Three Rivers Energy Center in Illinois.
See the latest data from EIA here.
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