2024 has been an impressive year for renewable energy growth so far, according to the latest Electric Power Monthly release from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Solar continues to grow the fastest in the U.S. During the first nine months of 2024, utility-scale solar power generation (thermal and PV) output increased a whopping 30.1% from the same period in 2023. Estimated total solar from all facilities (utility- and smaller-scale) increased 25.1% during this same period.
In the month of September 2024 alone, utility-scale solar (thermal and PV) increased 29% from the month of September 2023.
Significant installations are driving the increase in solar generation, with solar accounting for 59% of U.S. generating capacity additions in the first half of 2024, EIA reported in September. The increase in solar capacity was also supported by the development of new battery storage capacity, the agency said.
Unsurprisingly, Texas and California were on track to receive the largest gains in solar generation this year: 16 billion kilowatthours (BkWh) for the former, and 9 BkWh for the latter, per EIA.
Through September 2024, utility-scale wind generation increased 6.6% over the same nine-month period in 2023.
Generation from all renewable energy sources, excluding hydroelectric, increased 12.2% in the 2024 nine-month period.
