Photo voltaic technology for the primary 11 months of 2024 elevated by over 26%, whereas new photo voltaic producing capability added in November was the second-highest month-to-month whole ever reported, in accordance with new knowledge launched by the Federal Power Regulatory Fee (FERC) and the US Power Data Administration (EIA).
New photo voltaic capability simply surpassed all different power sources in the course of the first 11 months of 2024, adopted by wind, in accordance with the SUN DAY Marketing campaign, which reviewed the info.
Photo voltaic was 81.4% of latest capability in the course of the first 11 months of 2024 and 98.6% in November alone. In line with FERC’s newest “Power Infrastructure Replace” report (with knowledge by means of November 30, 2024), 25,817 megawatts (MW) of latest utility-scale photo voltaic technology was positioned into service within the first 11 months of 2024 – 81.4% of the overall.
In November alone, photo voltaic added 4,132 MW representing 98.6% of all new capability added, making it the second-largest month-to-month enlargement, behind solely December 2023 when 4,979 MW had been added. Furthermore, November was the fifteenth month in a row that photo voltaic was the biggest supply of latest utility-scale producing capability.
Utility-scale photo voltaic producing capability has now reached 125.53 gigawatts (GW) or 9.61% of the overall put in capability by all power sources. (FERC’s knowledge don’t embody the capability of small-scale photo voltaic methods that account for roughly 30% of all US photo voltaic capability.)
New wind capability year-to-date (YTD) accounted for many of the stability by means of November – 2,804 MW (8.8%). One other 248 MW had been offered by hydropower, geothermal, and biomass. Thus, the combination of all renewables accounted for 91.0% of all new capability additions.
New photo voltaic capability ought to present considerably extra electrical energy than the pure fuel or nuclear energy crops that got here on-line in 2024. In November alone, 72 new “models” of utility-scale (ie, >1 MW) photo voltaic had been positioned into service whereas 613 models got here on-line YTD. Their mixed capability was nearly double that reported for a similar interval in 2023 (13,829 MW).
Furthermore, producing capability of the brand new photo voltaic services was 15 occasions better than the capability additions of pure fuel (1,711 MW) and practically 24 occasions greater than these of nuclear energy (1,100 MW).
The brand new photo voltaic capability ought to produce extra electrical energy than the nuclear and gas-fired energy crops that got here on-line in 2024, however that the latter two have considerably increased capability elements than both photo voltaic or wind: nuclear – 93.0%, pure fuel – 59.7%, wind – 33.2%, photo voltaic – 23.2%.
Adjusting for the variations in capability elements, the photo voltaic added in 2024 YTD ought to generate nearly six occasions extra electrical energy than the brand new capability additions of both nuclear energy or pure fuel. Electrical energy to be produced by newly added wind ought to practically match that of both new nuclear or fuel capability.
Photo voltaic stays the fastest-growing supply of US electrical technology. In line with EIA’s newest month-to-month “Electrical Energy Month-to-month” report (with knowledge by means of November 30, 2024), the mix of utility-scale and “estimated” small-scale (e.g., rooftop) photo voltaic elevated by 26.2% within the first 11 months of 2024 in comparison with the identical interval in 2023. This displays a mix of 31.0% progress by utility-scale photo voltaic thermal and PV plus 15.4% progress by small-scale services (ie, <1 MW).
No different power supply got here near matching that fee of progress. The second-fastest rising supply {of electrical} technology was wind energy, which grew by 7.6%.
By comparability, pure fuel and nuclear energy expanded by simply 3.8% and 0.6%, respectively, whereas coal-generated electrical energy shrunk by 4.7%.
Utility-scale photo voltaic offered 5.1% of US electrical technology by means of the top of November, whereas small-scale photo voltaic offered one other 2.0%. Mixed, that positioned photo voltaic technology second to that of wind (10.3%) and forward of hydropower (5.5%), biomass (1.1%), and geothermal (0.3%).
By the primary 11 months of 2024, the combination of all renewables accounted for twenty-four.3% of whole US electrical technology – up from 22.9% a 12 months earlier. Furthermore, the mix of simply photo voltaic and wind outproduced coal by 18% and got here near the output of the US’s nuclear energy crops.
“Photo voltaic and different renewables are going through an unsure future below a seemingly hostile Trump administration,” famous the SUN DAY Marketing campaign’s government director Ken Bossong. “However the sturdy and unceasing progress by photo voltaic and wind offers the most effective argument for his or her continued assist.”
Learn extra: The world’s largest photo voltaic + storage mission will ship energy 24/7
When you reside in an space that has frequent pure catastrophe occasions, and are desirous about making your own home extra resilient to energy outages, take into account going photo voltaic and including a battery storage system. To be sure you discover a trusted, dependable photo voltaic installer close to you that gives aggressive pricing, try EnergySage, a free service that makes it straightforward so that you can go photo voltaic. They’ve tons of of pre-vetted photo voltaic installers competing for your online business, making certain you get prime quality options and save 20-30% in comparison with going it alone. Plus, it’s free to make use of and also you gained’t get gross sales calls till you choose an installer and share your cellphone quantity with them.
Your customized photo voltaic quotes are straightforward to match on-line and also you’ll get entry to unbiased Power Advisers that can assist you each step of the best way. Get began right here. –trusted affiliate hyperlink*
FTC: We use revenue incomes auto affiliate hyperlinks. Extra.
