US Added Over 5.55 GW Utility Clean Energy In Q3/2023

• The US exited Q3/2023 with 5.55 GW new utility-scale clean energy capacity installed, including 3.12 GW solar PV 
• The tally could have been higher had it not been for some 23 GW capacity delayed between Q1 and Q3 
• Solar PV makes up 58% of the 145.5 GW clean energy capacity the US had in the pipeline at the end of September 2023 

The US had 5,551 MW of new utility-scale clean energy capacity commissioned in Q3/2023, with solar PV adding 3,121 MW, according to the American Clean Power Association (ACP). It said that this is a YoY growth of 13%, making it the strongest 3rd quarter to date. 

In its latest report Clean Power Quarterly Market Report Q3 2023, ACP says that solar PV installations grew by 31% YoY from 2.37 GW, with 56 projects of this technology coming online during the reporting period. In Q2/2023, it added 2.99 GW utility-scale PV. 

Battery energy storage projects contributed with 2.14 GW and onshore wind with 288 MW capacity additions during the quarter. 

A total of 2.9 GW new capacity was hybrid with 92% of these being solar and storage facilities. Around 80% of the 18.45 GW hybrid projects are currently operational in the US, comprised of solar and storage technologies. The US has another 27.17 GW hybrid project in the pipeline, with 98% of these made up of solar & storage. 

Project delays 

Despite the growth, ACP believes almost 23 GW of projects have been delayed through Q3 of 2023. Quarter-wise, project delays of 5 GW, 12.6 GW and 5.3 GW were reported in the initial 3 quarters of this year, respectively. 

"Factoring delays from 2021 and 2022, overall clean power project delays have exceeded 56 GW," reads the report. Of this, 16.6 GW was initially expected to be commissioned by the end of Q3/2023, and 51% by 2023-end. 

While wind projects are experiencing an average delay of 15 months from the original expected commissioning date, the delay is 13 months for solar projects and 11 months for storage. 

Solar projects make up the largest chunk of it with 67% capacity delayed, followed by 16% onshore wind, 11% storage and 6% offshore wind. 

Pipeline 

At the end of the reporting period, the 145.5 GW utility-scale clean energy capacity in the pipeline grew by 10% YoY while maintaining the same level from the previous quarter. 

Solar again takes the lion's share here, accounting for 58% of the clean energy projects in the pipeline, representing 84.64 GW with 855 facilities under development. Texas leads with 19.15 GW, followed by 6.15 GW in Indiana and 5.67 GW in California. 

Nonetheless, ACP points out that utility-scale solar pipeline shrank by 1% sequentially, even though it increased by 8% year-over-year. 

NextEra leads the list of top 10 developers as it has more than 12 GW in the pipeline, followed by Invenergy with 7.88 GW, and AES with 6.1 GW capacity. Of the top 10, 7 companies have a solar PV focused pipeline under development.  

In terms of capacity under construction, the US had 478 clean energy projects with 59.68 GW combined capacity under construction, comprising 37.63 GW solar PV, 12.85 GW land-based wind, 8.13 GW battery storage and 938 MW offshore wind. 

Wood Mackenzie and SEIA had previously blamed high interest rates, elevated hardware and labor costs, and increased local resistance to clean energy projects and uncertainty around benefits under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as reasons causing pipeline growth to stagnate (see US Installed 5.6 GW DC New Solar In Q2/2023).   

Recently, BloombergNEF increased its new solar, wind and storage capacity addition for the US between 2023 and 2030 by 19 GW (see BloombergNEF Raises US Clean Energy Forecast By 19 GW).