Falling costs for solar modules with market oversupply and easing supply chains for this technology led new utility-scale clean power installations in the US in 2023 as the market grew by 30% annually. The 33.8 GW new installations of solar, wind and energy storage were an increase of 7.9 GW taking the total operational capacity to 262 GW at the end of last year, says the American Clean Power Association (ACP).
Solar accounted for 58% of all new additions with 19.6 GW, led by 5.9 GW in Texas and 2.3 GW in California. In Q4 alone, 10.9 GW new PV capacity was commissioned.
Favorable federal policies also favored solar PV market's growth last year as more than half of 94 GW in operation at the end of last year came online between 2020 and 2023, according to the report writers. There is 92 GW new capacity in the pipeline, according to the Clean Power Annual Market Report 2023.
Solar was followed by energy storage accounting for 23% or 7.9 GW new capacity, a record year for both thanks to a sharp decline in prices for the latter's raw materials. The new tax credit for standalone storage and increase in demand for solar power aided this annual growth for storage. The Q4 additions for this technology were 3.47 GW.
Onshore wind, on the other hand, suffered from lengthy permitting processes, crowded interconnection queues, and lack of transmission capacity, as per the report. With 6.4 GW comprising 3.73 GW in Q4, it represented 19% of new installations.
Analysts point to the growing role that corporate buyers are playing in driving up clean energy demand. Headed by Amazon, Meta and Google too are powering up this space.
Despite this mounting pipeline, ACP believes the country lags behind what it needs to achieve a net-zero emissions economy by 2050. The year 2023 was the 3rd consecutive year for the US clean energy market to face project delays. More than 38 GW utility-scale capacity, with solar making up 70%, was unable to meet initial commercial operation schedules.
Overall, more than 60 GW of clean power projects were delayed at the end of 2023.
According to the report writers, at the end of 2023, the US had a pipeline of 170.8 GW utility-scale solar, onshore wind, battery storage and offshore wind projects. Of these, 70.9 GW clean energy capacity was under construction and 99.9 GW in advanced development. Solar PV accounts for 55% or 52.9 GW of the advanced development pipeline.
Meanwhile, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) continues to stimulate the manufacturing industry's morale. From August 16, 2022 through to February 9, 2024, the ACP counts 123 new manufacturing facilities to have been announced, including 78 for solar PV. All of these represent over $35 billion in capital investment and enough to support nearly 42,000 new manufacturing jobs.
"It has been a banner year for storage and solar, and there is real excitement over the 123 newly announced manufacturing facilities that will bring economic development to communities across the country," said ACP CEO Jason Grumet. "But despite these achievements, we need to make even greater strides to meet our shared energy security and net-zero goals."
ACP counts over 500 active clean power related manufacturing facilities across the country. This includes 450 wind-related and more than 60 utility-scale solar related facilities. Further details are available on ACP's website.
Earlier this month, Wood Mackenzie and Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) pegged 2023 US solar PV installations, comprising both utility-scale and distributed solar, at 32.4 GW DC (see 2023 US Solar Installations Set Record With 32.4 GW).
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