Renewables provided 90% of new US capacity in 2024 – FERC
Renewable energy – solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower, biomass – accounted for more than 90% of total US electrical generating capacity added in 2024, according to data released yesterday by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and reviewed by the SUN DAY campaign.
Solar alone accounted for over 81% of the new capacity. Moreover, December was the 16th month in a row in which solar was the largest source of new capacity.
Renewables made up the lion’s share of new generating capacity in December and in 2024. In its latest monthly “Energy Infrastructure Update” report (with data through December 31, 2024), FERC says 105 “units” of solar totaling 4,369 megawatts (MW) came online in December, along with two units of wind (324 MW) and two units of biomass (45 MW). Combined, they accounted for 86.9% of all new generating capacity added during the month. Natural gas provided the balance: 717 MW.
During the full 2024 calendar year, solar and wind added 30,816 MW and 3,128 MW, respectively. Combined with 213 MW of hydropower, 51 MW of biomass, and 29 MW of geothermal steam, renewables accounted for 90.5% of added capacity. The balance consisted of the 1,100 Vogtle-4 nuclear reactor in Georgia, plus 2,428 MW of natural gas, 13 MW of coal, 11 MW of oil, and 28 MW of “other.”
Solar was 80.1% of new capacity in December and 81.5% during 2024. Solar accounted for 81.5% of all new generating capacity placed into service in 2024 – 50% more than the solar capacity added in 2023.
In December alone, solar comprised 80.1% of all new capacity added.
New solar capacity added in 2024 is almost nine times that added by natural gas and nuclear power combined.
Solar has now been the largest source of new generating capacity added each month for 16 months straight, from September 2023 – December 2024.
Adjusting for the differences in capacity factors among solar, nuclear, and natural gas, the new solar capacity added in 2024 is likely to generate seven times as much electricity as the new nuclear capacity and about five times as much as might be expected from the new natural gas capacity.
Solar + wind are now almost 22% of US utility-scale generating capacity. New wind accounted for much of the balance (8.3%) of capacity additions, which is more than either the new natural gas capacity (6.4%) or nuclear power capacity (2.9%).
Taken together, the installed capacities of just solar (10.2%) and wind (11.7%) now constitute more than one-fifth (21.9%) of the US’s total available installed utility-scale generating capacity.
However, approximately 30% of US solar capacity is in the form of small-scale (e.g., rooftop) systems that aren’t reflected in FERC’s data. Including that additional solar capacity would bring the share provided by solar + wind closer to a quarter of the US total.
With the inclusion of hydropower (7.7%), biomass (1.1%), and geothermal (0.3%), renewables now claim a 31.0% share of total US utility-scale generating capacity. If small-scale solar capacity is included, renewables are now about one-third of total US generating capacity.
Solar’s share of US generating capacity is now 10x greater than a decade ago. As noted, by the end of 2024, solar and wind accounted for 10.2% and 11.7%, respectively, of all installed utility-scale generating capacity in the US, while the mix of all renewables accounted for 31.0%.
In December 2023, FERC reported that solar and wind were 7.9% and 11.7% of installed capacity while the mix of all renewables provided 29.0%.
Five years ago (December 2019), FERC released data showing solar and wind to be 3.5% and 8.5% of total capacity while all renewables combined were 22.1%.
A decade ago (December 2014), FERC reported that solar and wind were 1.0% and 5.5% of total capacity, while the combination of all renewables accounted for 16.6% of capacity.
Solar will soon become the second-largest source of US generating capacity. FERC reports that net “high probability” additions of solar between January 2025 and December 2027 total 91,558 MW – an amount almost four times the forecast net “high probability” additions for wind (23,601 MW), the second-fastest growing resource. FERC also foresees growth for hydropower (1,345 MW), geothermal (90 MW), and biomass (61 MW).
Taken together, the net new “high probability” capacity additions by all renewable energy sources would total 116,655 MW, with solar comprising over 78% and wind providing another 20%.
On the other hand, there is no new nuclear capacity in FERC’s three-year forecast, while coal, oil, and natural gas are projected to contract by 23,925 MW, 2,293 MW, and 833 MW, respectively.
If FERC’s current “high probability” additions materialize, by January 1, 2028, solar will account for nearly one-sixth (16.1%) of the US’s installed utility-scale generating capacity. That would be greater than either coal or wind (both 12.6%) and substantially more than either nuclear power or hydropower (both 7.3%).
In fact, assuming current growth rates continue, the installed capacity of utility-scale solar is likely to surpass coal and wind within the next two years, placing solar in second place for installed generating capacity, behind natural gas.
Meanwhile, the mix of all renewables is now adding about two percentage points each year to its share of generating capacity. Thus, by January 1, 2028, renewables would account for 37.3% of the total available installed utility-scale generating capacity – rapidly approaching that of natural gas (40.2%) – with solar and wind constituting more than three-quarters of the installed renewable energy capacity.
All renewables combined are on track to exceed natural gas within three years. As noted, FERC’s data don’t account for the capacity of small-scale solar systems. If that’s factored in, within three years, total US solar capacity could surpass 320 GW. In turn, the mix of all renewables would then exceed 40% of total installed capacity while the share of natural gas share would drop to about 37%.
Moreover, FERC reports that there may actually be as much as 222,443 MW of net new solar additions in the current three-year pipeline in addition to 68,815 MW of new wind, 8,659 MW of new hydropower, 199 MW of new geothermal, and 127 MW of new biomass. By contrast, the net new natural gas capacity potentially in the three-year pipeline totals just 19,438 MW. Thus, the share of renewables share could be even greater by early 2028.
“For more than a decade, renewable energy sources – led by solar – have dominated growth in US generating capacity,” noted the SUN DAY Campaign’s executive director Ken Bossong. “Consequently, efforts by the Trump Administration to reverse this trend are both illogical and likely to fail.”
Electrek’s Take
FERC’s latest data further illustrates how utterly ridiculous Trump’s “national energy emergency” executive order is. The steady growth of clean energy, which has kept large energy markets like Texas out of trouble during weather events, disproves Trump’s claims that the US clean energy supply is “precariously inadequate and intermittent.”
Further, his refusal to even define solar and wind as “energy” in that executive order isn’t going to stop their progress, and both he and his new secretary of energy, Chris Wright, telling lies about renewables isn’t going to make them any less clean, affordable, or reliable.
Read more: Thanks to wind and solar, Texas has kept the power on and the costs down
To limit power outages and make your home more resilient, consider going solar with a battery storage system. In order to find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and you share your phone number with them.
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Danish energy giant Ørsted has canceled plans for the Hornsea 4 offshore wind farm, dealing a major blow to the UK’s renewable energy ambitions.
Hornsea 4, at a massive 2.4 gigawatts (GW), would have become one of the largest offshore wind farms in the world, generating enough clean electricity to power over 1 million UK homes. But Ørsted announced that it’s abandoning the project “in its current form.”
“The adverse macroeconomic developments, continued supply chain challenges, and increased execution, market, and operational risks have eroded the value creation,” said Rasmus Errboe, group president and CEO of Ørsted.
Reuters reported that Ørsted’s cancellation of Hornsea 4 would result in a projected loss of up to 5.5 billion Danish crowns ($837.85 million) in breakaway fees and asset write-downs. The company’s market value has declined by 80% since its peak in 2021.
The cancellation highlights significant challenges currently facing offshore wind development in Europe, particularly in the UK. The combination of higher material costs, inflation, and global financial instability has made large-scale renewable projects increasingly difficult to finance and complete.
Ørsted’s decision is a significant setback to the UK’s energy transition goals. The UK currently has around 15 GW of offshore wind, and Hornsea 4’s size would have provided almost 7% of the additional capacity needed for the UK’s 50 GW by 2030 target, according to The Times. Losing this immense project off the Yorkshire coast could hamper the UK’s pace of reducing dependency on fossil fuels, especially amid volatile global energy markets.
The UK government reiterated its commitment to renewable energy, promising to work closely with industry leaders to overcome financial and logistical hurdles. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband told reporters in Norway that the UK is “still committed to working with Orsted to seek to make Hornsea 4 happen by 2030.”
Ørsted says it remains committed to its other UK-based projects, including the Hornsea 3 wind farm, which is expected to generate around 2.9 GW once completed at the end of 2027. Despite the challenges, the company emphasized its ongoing commitment to the British renewable market, pointing to the critical need for policy support and economic stability to ensure future developments.
Yet, the cancellation of Hornsea 4 demonstrates that even flagship renewable projects are vulnerable in the face of economic pressures and global uncertainties, which have been heightened under the Trump administration in the US.
Read more: The world’s single-largest wind farm gets the green light
If you live in an area that has frequent natural disaster events, and are interested in making your home more resilient to power outages, consider going solar and adding a battery storage system. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate link*
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The Tesla Roadster appears to be quietly disappearing after years of delay. is it ever going to be made?
I may have jinxed it with Betteridge’s Law of Headlines, which suggests any headline ending in a question mark can be answered with “no.”
The prototype for the next-generation Tesla Roadster was first unveiled in 2017, and it was supposed to come into production in 2020, but it has been delayed every year since then.
It was supposed to get 620 miles (1,000 km) of range and accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 1.9 seconds.
It has become a sort of running joke, and there are doubts that it will ever come to market despite Tesla’s promise of dozens of free new Roadsters to Tesla owners who participated in its referral program years ago.
Tesla uses the promise of free Roadsters to help generate billions of dollars worth of sales, which Tesla owners delivered, but the automaker never delivered on its part of the agreement.
Furthermore, many people placed deposits ranging from $50,000 to $250,000 to reserve the vehicle, which was supposed to hit the market 5 years ago.
The official timelines from Tesla are pretty useless at this point since they haven’t stuck to any of them, but the latest official one dates back to July 2024 when CEO Elon Musk said this:
“With respect to Roadster, we’ve completed most of the engineering. And I think there’s still some upgrades we want to make to it, but we expect to be in production with Roadster next year. It will be something special.”
He said that Tesla had completed “most of the engineering”, but he initially said the engineering would be done in 2021 and that was already 3 years after the prototype was unveiled and a year after it was supposed to be in production:
Musk commented on the Roadster again in October 2024, but he didn’t reiterate the 2025 timeline. Instead, he called the new Roadster “the cherry on the icing on the cake.”
Tesla’s leadership has been virtually silent about the new Roadster since. Two Tesla executives even had to be reminded about the Roadster by Jay Leno after they “forgot” about it when listing upcoming new Tesla vehicles with tri-motor powertrain.
There was one small update about the Roadster in Tesla’s financial results last month.
The automaker has a table of all its vehicle production, and the Roadster was updated from “in development” to “design development” in the table:
It’s not clear if that’s progress or Tesla is just rephrasing it. Either way, it is not “construction”, which makes it unlikely that the Roadster is going into production this year.
If ever…
Electrek’s Take
It looks like Tesla owes about 80 Tesla Roadsters for free to Tesla owners who referred purchases, and it owes significant discounts on hundreds of units.
It’s hard for me to believe that Tesla is not delivering the new Roadster because the vehicle program would start about $100 million in the red, but at this point, I have no idea. It very well might be the reason.
However, I think it’s more likely that Tesla is just terrible at bringing multiple vehicle programs to market simultaneously. Case in point: it launched a single new vehicle in the last five years.
At this point, I think it’s more likely that the Roadster will never happen. It will join other Tesla products like the Cybertruck Range Extender.
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The 2025 Lucid Air isn’t just any luxury sedan. It’s the world’s most efficient car with over 400 miles of range. After introducing new discounts this month, Lucid is offering over $20,000 in savings on select 2025 Air models.
Lucid Air EV discounts top $20,000 in May
In the first quarter, the Lucid Air was the best-selling EV and the third top-selling sedan overall in its segment, including gas-powered cars.
After launching the 2025 Air Pure last summer, Lucid claimed it was the “world’s most efficient car” at 5.0 miles of range per kWh. That translates to over 420 miles of EPA-estimated range and the highest MPGe rating of any EV at 146 MPGe.
Lucid introduced new discounts this month, making the 2025 Air significantly more affordable. The 2025 Lucid Air Touring is available with up to $20,500 in savings with leases starting at just $599 for 36 months.
The promo includes a $1,000 on-site bonus, a $2,000 conquest offer, a $10,000 Air Credit, and a $7,500 EV credit.
Other trims, including the Lucid Air Pure and Lucid Air Grand Touring, offer discounts of up to $18,000 and $15,500, respectively.
The 2025 Lucid Air Touring starts at $78,900 with 620 HP and 406 miles of range. Lucid is offering 2025 Air Pure models from $69,900, with up to 420 miles of range. The Grand Touring gets up to 512 miles with prices starting at $110,900.
Lucid increased its Tesla trade-in allowance this month, which can save you an additional $4,000. To take advantage of the deals, you must take delivery by May 31, 2025.
2025 Lucid Air trim |
Starting Price | Lease Discounts | Lease From (per month/ 36 months) |
EPA-estimated Range |
| Lucid Air Pure | $69,900 | -$18,000 | $579 | 420 miles |
| Lucid Air Touring | $78,900 | -$20,500 | $599 | 406 miles |
| Lucid Air Grand Touring | $110,900 | -$15,500 | $849 | 512 miles |
| Lucid Air Sapphire | $249,000 | N/A | N/A | 427 miles |
You can also now lease Lucid’s new Gravity electric SUV. According to Lucid’s payment calculator, the 2026 Lucid Gravity Grand Touring can be leased for $1,102 a month.
That’s based on an MSRP of $94,900 with a down payment of $8,030. Later this year, Lucid will launch the lower-priced Touring model, starting at $79,900.
Ready to check out Lucid’s luxury EVs for yourself? You can use our links below to view current offers on Lucid Air and Gravity models in your area.
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