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The US added a record-setting 32.4 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity in 2023, according to a new report, but 2024 will bring challenges to the industry.

March 5, 2024: That’s a 37% increase from the previous record set in 2021 and a 51% increase from 2022.

It’s the first time in 80 years that a renewable electricity source has accounted for over half of annual capacity additions to the grid. 

According to the US Solar Market Insight 2023 Year-in-Review released today by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie, solar accounts for 53% of all new electric generating capacity added to the grid last year. This marks the first time in 80 years that a renewable electricity source has accounted for over 50% of annual capacity additions. 

Every solar market segment saw year-over-year growth in 2023, bringing total installed solar capacity in the US to 177 GW. The utility-scale sector alone added 22.5 GW of new capacity, while nearly 800,000 Americans added solar to their homes. 

SEIA president and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper said:

The Inflation Reduction Act is supercharging solar deployment and having a material impact on our economy, helping America’s solar module manufacturing base grow 89% in 2023.

We must protect and optimize the policies that are driving these investments and creating jobs, and the stakes in the upcoming election couldn’t be higher.

December 6, 2023: The SEIA and Wood Mackenzie released their report, “US Solar Market Insight Q4 2023,” in which they report that third-quarter (Q3) additions of new solar totaled 6.5 gigawatts (GW) – a 35% year-over-year increase – as federal clean energy policies begin to take hold.

California and Texas led the US for new solar installations in Q3, and Indiana ranked third with 663 megawatts (MW) of new capacity as several large utility-scale projects came online. Fourteen states and Puerto Rico installed more than 100 MW of new solar capacity in Q3. 

While economic challenges are beginning to impact the solar and storage industry, solar is still expected to be the largest source of generating capacity on the US grid by 2050.

SEIA president and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper said:

Solar remains the fastest-growing energy source in the United States, and despite a difficult economic environment, this growth is expected to continue for years to come.

To maintain this forecasted growth, we must modernize regulations and reduce bureaucratic roadblocks to make it easier for clean energy companies to invest capital and create jobs.

The residential solar segment installed a record 210,000 systems in Q3. However, the California Public Utilities Commission’s disastrous decision to gut the state’s rooftop solar incentives –resulting in an 80% drop in installations – and elevated US interest rates are expected to lead to a brief decline next year before growth resumes in 2025.

Elevated financing costs, transformer shortages, and interconnection bottlenecks are also impacting the utility-scale segment, which saw its lowest level of new contracts signed in a quarter since 2018.

However, improvements in the module supply chain have led to a record 12 GW of utility-scale deployment in the first nine months of 2023.

Solar accounts for 48% of all new electric generating capacity in the first three quarters of 2023, bringing total installed solar capacity in the US to 161 GW across 4.7 million installations. By 2028, US solar capacity is expected to reach 377 GW – enough to power more than 65 million homes.

Michelle Davis, head of solar research at Wood Mackenzie and lead author of the report, said:

The US solar industry is on a strong growth trajectory, with expectations of 55% growth this year and 10% growth in 2024.  

Growth is expected to be slower starting in 2026 as various challenges like interconnection constraints become more acute. It’s critical that the industry continue to innovate to maximize the value that solar brings to an increasingly complex grid.

Interconnection reform, regulatory modernization, and increasing storage attachment rates will be key tools.

Electrek’s Take

Solar breaking capacity records in 2023 doesn’t surprise me – thank you, Inflation Reduction Act – but it certainly makes me happy to hear it from the SEIA. The solar industry is still going to grow in 2024, just not as quickly as it did last year.

There are a lot of moving parts in this revolutionary transition to clean energy, and next year, the industry and its supply chain is going to have to recalibrate on some important stuff.

There’s nothing it can do about the interest rates, and I don’t know how California is going to sort out its mess. But there are innovative startups coming up with better ways to calibrate the power on the grid, and those ideas are being launched commercially. As Davis says, interconnection reform and regulation improvements are needed to help ease the clean energy bottlenecks. Hopefully those bottleneck issues will be improved by government sooner rather than later.

Read more: Here’s what the US needs to do right now to upgrade the grid

Photo: A worker watches the sunrise by US Department of Energy is licensed under CC-CC0 1.0


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The Hyundai IONIQ 6 N is here and it’s even better than expected

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The Hyundai IONIQ 6 N is here and it's even better than expected

The Hyundai IONIQ 6 N is finally here, and it delivers. Hyundai’s electric sports car is loaded with fun new features, a sleek design (including a massive rear wing), 641 horsepower, and much more.

Meet the Hyundai IONIQ 6 N

After teasing the new model for the first time last month, Hyundai created quite a buzz. Now, we are finally getting our first look at the upgraded high-performance EV.

Hyundai unveiled the new IONIQ 6 N at the famed Goodwood Festival of Speed on Thursday in West Sussex, England. The upgraded model follows Hyundai’s first high-performance EV, the IONIQ 5 N.

At the event, the company boasted that its new electric sports car marks “a pivotal milestone in Hyundai N’s electrification journey,” adding “Hyundai N is once again redefining the boundaries of high-performance electrification with the debut of the IONIQ 6 N.”

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The IONIQ 6 N delivers an impressive 641 horsepower (478 kW) and 77 Nm of torque, enabling a 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) sprint in just 3.2 seconds. Its top speed is about 160 mph (257 km/h).

Hyundai-IONIQ-6-N-EV
Hyundai IONIQ 6 N (Source: Hyundai)

That’s when using Hyundai’s Launch Control, one of the many performance features the new EV offers. Like its other N models, the IONIQ 6 is based on three pillars: Corner Rascal, Racetrack Capability, and, of course, an Everyday Sportscar.

Powered by two electric motors, a 223 hp (166 kW) at the front and another 378 hp (282 kW) motor at the rear, for a combined 600 hp (448 kW).

Hyundai-IONIQ-6-N-EV
Hyundai IONIQ 6 N (Source: Hyundai)

Redefining the EV driving experience

The upgraded IONIQ 6 “redefines the EV driving experience,” according to Hyundai, thanks to its advanced in-house vehicle control software.

Central to this is Hyundai’s N Active Sound + system, which mimics the feel and sound of a traditional engine. An added N e-Shift simulates shifting gears.

Hyundai-IONIQ-6-N-EV
Hyundai IONIQ 6 N interior (Source: Hyundai)

And that’s just the start. Other performance features, such as N Drift Optimizer, N Grin Boost, and N Torque Distribution, give you even more control over the vehicle while delivering increased power.

The IONIQ 6 N is powered by an 84 kWh battery, providing a WLTP range of up to 291 miles (469 km). However, EPA figures will be revealed closer to launch. Given the IONIQ 5 N has an EPA-estimated range of up to 221 miles, you can expect it to be slightly higher when it arrives.

With a 350 kW DC fast charger, Hyundai’s new performance EV can recharge from 10% to 80% in about 18 minutes.

With a length of 4,935 mm, a width of 1,940 mm, and a height of 1,495 mm, the IONIQ 6 N is about the size of the Porsche Taycan.

Hyundai will showcase the new high-performance EV during the hillclimb event alongside other models like the IONIQ 5 N, IONIQ 6 N Drift Spec, and IONIQ 6 N with N Performance parts. Hyundai promises each vehicle brings unique capabilities to the event, “guaranteeing a dynamic and thrilling on-track experience for all attendees.” Check back soon for more info.

What do you think of Hyundai’s new electric sports car? Would you buy one over the Porsche Taycan? Let us know in the comments.

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Elon Musk says Grok is coming to Tesla vehicles just after it went full Hitler

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Elon Musk says Grok is coming to Tesla vehicles just after it went full Hitler

Elon Musk said that Tesla owners will “soon” have access to Grok, a large language developed by Musk’s xAI startup, days after the AI started calling itself ‘MechaHitler’.

Yesterday, xAI launched Grok 4, the latest version of its large language model.

The new model is benchmarking very well, but that’s generally the case with the latest model to come out. It edges the latest models from Google and OpenAI on intelligence by a few points, but it falls behind on speed:

At the launch event, Musk announced that Grok will “soon” be integrated into Tesla vehicles.

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This is something that the CEO has been discussing since founding xAI, which has been controversial because Musk has also positioned Tesla to compete in the AI space. He even stepped down from his role at OpenAI due to a “conflict of interest with Tesla.”

The announcement of the imminent integration of Grok into Tesla vehicles comes just days after the language model went haywire on X and started praising Hitler, referring to itself as ‘MechaHitler’, and made several antisemitic comments.

xAI acknowledge the issue and put Grok on timeout while they fixed it:

We are aware of recent posts made by Grok and are actively working to remove the inappropriate posts. Since being made aware of the content, xAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X. xAI is training only truth-seeking and thanks to the millions of users on X, we are able to quickly identify and update the model where training could be improved.

The “bug” came just a few weeks after Musk stated that he was displeased with Grok supporting left-wing narratives, even though it didn’t say anything inncurate, and that he would update Grok to “fix” it.

Now, the large language model (LLM) is expected to power the new voice assistant inside Tesla vehicles.

LLMs are becoming quite common in cars, especially premium vehicles. Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, and a few others have all integrated Chat-GPT in some models.

Many Chinese automakers have also developed their own and deployed them in cars, even entry-level ones.

Tesla is playing catch up on that front.

Electrek’s Take

As I have previously stated, I think Musk is setting up Tesla to invest or even merge with xAI at a ridiculous valuation – making Tesla shareholders virtually pay twice for Twitter, which is now part of xAI.

This is how he will be able to gain wider control over the company’s share.

Of course, it will be widely challenged in court. In fact, shareholders have already filed a lawsuit alleging that Musk was in breach of fiduciary duties to Tesla shareholders when he started xAI.

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Alaska is America’s worst state for business in 2025 as falling oil prices sink economy

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Alaska is America's worst state for business in 2025 as falling oil prices sink economy

Pipeline Winding in Summer Mountain Landscape

Sarkophoto | Istock | Getty Images

From the first discovery in Prudhoe Bay in 1968, Alaskans have had a love-hate relationship with oil.

On one hand, it allowed Alaska to abolish its state income tax, fund most government operations and provide every Alaskan with a dividend that continues to this day. On the other hand, it has left the state at the near total mercy of the global oil market.

In recent years, that has proven to be a bad bet. And it is the major reason Alaska finishes at the bottom of the CNBC America’s Top States for Business rankings in 2025.

With the price of Alaska North Slope crude oil down by double digits from a year ago, according to the Alaska Department of Revenue, Alaska has America’s worst economy as measured by the CNBC study. Economy is the heaviest-weighted category under this year’s methodology.

More coverage of the 2025 America’s Top States for Business

Alaska’s gross domestic product growth is in the bottom ten nationally. The state’s economy grew by just 1.5% last year, compared to 2.8% nationally.

More crucially, the state’s fiscal year 2026 budget is based on a forecast of $68 per barrel for crude oil, and it is unclear if that will hold. Alaska North Slope crude traded as low as $63.49 on May 5 before rebounding above $70 in recent weeks. State forecasters are counting on oil for around 70% of the state’s revenue over the next ten years, or nearly half the state’s operating budget. And some localities are far more dependent.

“When you look at the economic engine by default,” North Slope Borough Mayor Josiah Patkotak told CNBC last month, “That happens to be oil and gas by about 98% of our operating budget.”

$40 billion bet on natural gas as diversifier

For decades, Alaska has sought ways to diversify its economy, but it has had limited success. Proposals have involved alternative energy, agriculture, and the state’s tourism sector.

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy speaks during a news conference at his office in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S. March 22, 2022.

Yereth Rosen | Reuters

In 2023, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, signed legislation to put Alaska into the carbon market, using the state’s vast public lands for carbon storage, and to generate carbon offset credits for high carbon emitters in other states. But the program is still in the study phase. A report to the legislature in January said the program is not expected to generate any revenue until at least 2027.

More recently, the Trump administration is backing a proposal to build a natural gas pipeline alongside the Trans-Alaska oil pipeline, allowing the U.S. to ship liquid natural gas — a byproduct of North Slope oil production — to Asia.

North Carolina becomes America's Top State for Business

The idea has been around for years, but the price tag, estimated at around $40 billion, was impossible for the industry to swallow even when petroleum prices were high.

Now, however, administration officials think that trade tensions might change the economics.

“There [are] countries around the world looking to shrink their trade deficit with the United States, and of course, a very easy way to do that is to buy more American energy,” U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC’s Brian Sullivan in Prudhoe Bay last month.

“If you get the commercial offtakers for the gas, financing is pretty straightforward,” Wright said.

If the project gets off the ground, it could provide a huge boost to Alaska’s economy, though it would still be at the mercy of commodity prices.

Lack of tech infrastructure, high costs

Alaska’s struggling economy is a major reason for its poor competitive performance, but it is not the only one.

The state ranks No. 49 in Infrastructure. While the state’s roads and bridges are in better shape than in many states in the Lower 48, its virtual infrastructure leaves much to be desired. Fewer than 2% of Alaskans have access to affordable broadband service, according to BroadbandNow Research. The data center boom has passed Alaska by thus far, with only four in the entire state.

Alaska is a notoriously expensive place to live, especially in the many remote parts of the state.

“When you’re paying 16 bucks a gallon for milk, we’ve got to figure out how to make sure that you can afford to buy the milk so you can live here. We’ve got to make sure you can afford to buy the gas so you can hunt here,” said Patkotak.

But one aspect of life is a bargain in Alaska. At a time of soaring homeowner premiums, online insurance marketplace Insurify projects Alaska homeowners insurance premiums will average $1,543 this year, the second lowest in the nation.

Join the conversation. Didn’t see your state mentioned? You can see where it ranked overall, and in all 10 categories of competitiveness, in the full rankings of the 2025 America’s Top States for Business.

Top States for Business: Here are the runners-up

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