According to data released yesterday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), preliminary statistics show that in the first half of 2024, the U.S. increased 20.2 gigawatts (GW) of new power generation capacity, an increase of 3.6 GW (21%) compared to the same period in 2023. Based on the latest reported data, an additional 42.6 GW of capacity is expected to be added in the second half of this year, which will bring the annual total to 62.8 GW in 2024 .
source: EIA
Solar Power Generation: Solar power accounted for the largest share of new power generation capacity in the U.S., with 12 GW of new solar installations, representing 59% of all new capacity. Texas and Florida made up 38% of the U.S. solar additions. The Gemini solar and storage facility in Nevada, with a capacity of 690 megawatts (MW), and the Lumina Solar Project in Texas, with 653 MW, were the largest solar projects to come online in the first half of 2024.
Battery Energy Storage: Battery energy storage was the second-largest source of new capacity in the U.S. in the first half of this year, accounting for 21% (4.2 GW). New battery capacity was concentrated in four states: California (37% of the U.S. total), Texas (24%), Arizona (19%), and Nevada (13%). The 380-MW battery storage capacity at Gemini and the 300-MW Eleven Mile Solar Center in Arizona were the two largest projects to come online in the first half of 2024.
Wind Power Generation: Wind power made up 12% (2.5 GW) of new U.S. capacity additions. The Canyon Wind farm in Texas, with 309 MW, and the Goodnight Wind farm, with 266 MW, were the largest wind projects to come online in the U.S. during the first half of the year.
In 2024, nuclear power in the U.S. also saw an increase. Unit 4 (1,114 MW) at Georgia’s Vogtle nuclear power plant began commercial operations in April, making Vogtle the largest nuclear facility in the U.S. and the only one with four nuclear reactors.
source: EIA
Retired Capacity: The retirement of U.S. power generation capacity has slowed in 2024. Operators retired 5.1 GW of capacity in the first half of the year. In the first half of 2023, operators retired 9.2 GW of generation. More than half (53%) of the retired capacity in the first half of 2024 used natural gas as fuel, followed by coal at 41%.
The largest U.S. coal retirements include Unit 1 (626.0 MW) of the Seminole Electric Cooperative in Florida, which retired in January, and Unit 1 (626.1 MW) of the Homer City Generating Station in Pennsylvania, which retired in April. The Mystic Generating Station, a six-unit, 1,413-MW combined-cycle facility in Massachusetts, was the largest natural gas retirement this year and was the third-largest power plant in New England.
Developers and owners plan to add 42.6 GW of new capacity in the U.S. in the second half of 2024. Nearly 60% of that planned capacity is from solar power (25 GW), followed by battery storage (10.8 GW) and wind power (4.6 GW). If all planned solar capacity additions come online, solar capacity additions for 2024 will total a record 37 GW, nearly double last year’s 18.8 GW.
A record amount of battery storage capacity (15 GW) could also be added this year if all planned projects are realized. Texas and California’s storage plans currently account for 81% of new battery storage capacity in the second half of the year.
About 2.4 GW of capacity is scheduled to retire in the second half of 2024, including 0.7 GW of coal and 1.1 GW of natural gas.
