The use of solar power and batteries to charge the American electrical grid has exploded. The US Energy Information Agency released a report on the growth of the US power grid in the first half of 2024 and found some surprising shifts.
Of the 20.2 gigawatts of new electrical capacity added to the electrical grid, between January and June, 60% of it was solar power, thanks in large part to massive projects like 600+ megawatt solar energy installations in Texas and Nevada. Maybe the most eye-popping stat is that batteries provided the United States with 21% of its new capacity during this stretch.
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That means solar and battery storage made up for a remarkable 80% of all new electrical capacity. The easier way to think of it is that where solar projects can be found, massive battery installations can be found along with it. Solar panels soak up energy during the day that is stored in batteries, which then provide all the energy American cities need at night. California, Texas, Nevada, and Arizona accounted for most of the new capacity, with over a third of solar additions to the power grid coming in sunny Texas and Florida.
Wind power is making some contributions too, though not quite as much, claiming 12% of new capacity thanks to giant wind farm projects in states like Texas. Nuclear power increased, too, thanks to expansion at Georga’s Vogtle nuclear power plant, America’s largest nuclear facility.
The United States shift toward clean energy and away from natural gas is only expected to keep expanding throughout 2024. By year’s end, there’s expected to be an additional 42.6 GW of new capacity, with 15% of that coming from batteries. Natural gas will only be contributing around 2.6 GW of the new capacity for the remainder of the year.
To put that in perspective, as of January 2024, America’s total energy generation capacity was around 1,300 GW. The largest fuel source is natural gas, at nearly 44%, followed by coal at 16%.
But the price of solar energy has decreased dramatically over the past decade thanks to a mix of technological advancements, economies of scale in manufacturing, and increased efficiency in production processes. Clearly, being cheaper has made solar increasingly competitive with other energy sources.
Still, if you feel gloomy about our prospects of fighting back against climate change, you can take heart that we are heading in the right direction: 96% of 2024’s new energy capacity is likely going to be free of emissions.
