Renewables now make up 30% of US power capacity – FERC
Renewables – solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, hydropower – are now 30% of total US electrical generating capacity, according to analysis of FERC’s mid-year data.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)’s latest monthly “Energy Infrastructure Update” (with data through June 30, 2024), which was reviewed by the SUN DAY Campaign, also reported that June was the 10th month in a row in which solar was the largest source of new capacity. That puts solar on track to become the US’s second-largest source of capacity – behind only natural gas – within three years.
FERC says renewables were 99% of new generating capacity in June and 91% in H1 2024. 37 “units” of solar totaling 2,192 megawatts (MW) were placed into service in June along with one unit of hydropower (34 MW). Combined, they accounted for 98.9% of all new generating capacity added during the month. Natural gas and oil provided the balance: 20 MW and 5 MW, respectively. (Generating capacity is not the same as actual generation.)
During the first half of 2024, solar and wind added 13,072 MW and 2,129 MW, respectively. Combined with 212 MW of hydropower and 3 MW of biomass, renewables were 91.2% of capacity added. The balance consisted of the 1,100 Vogtle-4 nuclear reactor in Georgia plus 369 MW of gas, 11-MW of oil, and 3-MW of “other.”
Solar was 97% of new capacity in June and 77% during H1 2024. The new solar capacity added in the first half of 2024 was more than double the solar capacity (6,446 MW) added year-over-year. Solar accounted for 77.4% of all new generation placed into service in the first half of 2024.
New wind capacity in the same period accounted for most of the balance – 12.6% – which was slightly less than that added year-over-year (2,761 MW).
In June alone, solar comprised 97.4% of all new capacity added, followed by hydropower (1.5%). Solar has now been the largest source of new generating capacity for ten months straight: September 2023 – June 2024. For seven of those 10 months, wind took second place.
Solar plus wind are now more than a one-fifth of US generating capacity. The combined capacities of just solar and wind now constitute more than 20.7% of the US’s total available installed utility-scale generating capacity.
However, a third or more of US solar capacity is in the form of small-scale (e.g., rooftop) systems that isn’t reflected in FERC’s renewables data. Including that additional solar capacity would bring the share provided by solar + wind closer to a quarter of the US’s total.
Solar’s share of US generating capacity advances it to fourth place. The latest capacity additions have brought solar’s share of total available installed utility-scale (that is, >1 MW) generating capacity up to 9%, further expanding its lead over hydropower (7.8%). Wind is currently at 11.8%. With the inclusion of biomass (1.1%) and geothermal (0.3%), renewables now claim a 30% share of total US utility-scale generating capacity.
Installed utility-scale solar has now moved into fourth place – behind natural gas (43.3%), coal (15.8%), and wind – for its share of generating capacity after having recently surpassed that of nuclear power (8%).
Solar will soon become the second largest source of US generating capacity. FERC reports that net “high probability” additions of solar between July 2024 and June 2027 total 88,526 MW – an amount almost four times the forecast net “high probability” additions for wind (23,851 MW), the second fastest growing resource.
FERC also foresees growth for hydropower (1,240 MW), geothermal (400 MW), and biomass (90 MW). There’s no new nuclear capacity in FERC’s three-year forecast, and coal, natural gas, and oil are projected to contract by 20,542 MW, 3,106 MW, and 1,629 MW, respectively.
If FERC’s current “high probability” additions materialize, by July 1, 2027, solar will account for more than one-seventh (14.8%) of the nation’s installed utility-scale generating capacity. That would be greater than either coal (13.3%) or wind (12.7%), and substantially more than either nuclear power (7.5%) or hydropower (7.4%). That means the installed capacity of utility-scale solar would move into the No. 2 spot behind natural gas (40.3%).
Meanwhile, the mix of all renewables would account for 36.3% of total available installed utility-scale generating capacity – rapidly approaching that of natural gas – with solar and wind constituting more than three-quarters of the installed renewable energy capacity.
If small-scale solar systems are taken into account, within three years, total US solar capacity is likely to approach – and very possibly surpass – 300 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%.
Ken Bossong, the executive director of nonprofit research and educational organization SUN DAY Campaign, said:
With each passing month, renewables – led by solar – expand their contribution to the nation’s electrical capacity.
Growing from just a fraction of one percent a decade ago, solar is now nearly a tenth of US utility-scale generating capacity and poised to reach 15% within three years.
Read more: US power grid boosts capacity by 20.2 GW in the first half of 2024
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National Grid Renewables has broken ground on its 100 MW Apple River Solar Project in Polk County, Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin solar farm, which will use US-made First Solar Series 6 Plus bifacial modules, will be constructed by The Boldt Company, creating 150 construction and service jobs. Apple River Solar will generate over $36 million in direct economic benefits over its first 20 years.
Once it comes online in late 2025, Apple River Solar will supply clean energy to Xcel Energy, which serves customers throughout the Upper Midwest. According to National Grid Renewables, the solar farm will generate enough energy to power around 26,000 homes annually. It will also offset about 129,900 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year – equivalent to taking 30,900 cars off the road.
“We are excited to see this project begin as it underscores our dedication to delivering clean, reliable and affordable energy to our customers,” said Karl Hoesly, President, Xcel Energy-Wisconsin and Michigan. “This project is an important step in those goals while bringing significant economic benefits to Polk County and the local townships.”
Electrek reported in February that Xcel Energy, Minnesota’s largest utility, expects to cut more than 80% – and possibly up to 88% – of its emissions by 2030, putting it on track to hit Minnesota’s goal of net zero by 2040. It also says it’s on track to achieve its clean energy goals for all the Upper Midwest states it serves – Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Michigan.
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.
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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Tesla has announced that it will finally deliver 500 kW charging as it is about to install its long-awaited V4 Supercharger cabinets.
The rollout of Supercharger V4 has been a strange one, to say the least.
Tesla has been deploying the new charging stations for two years and calling them “Supercharger V4”, but it has only been deploying the charging stalls.
Supercharger stations are made of two main parts: the stalls, which are where the charging cable is located, and the cabinets, which are generally located further back and include all the power electronics.
For all these new “Supercharger V4”, Tesla was actually using Supercharger V3 cabinets. This has been limiting the power output of the charging stations to 250 kW – although
Today, Tesla officially announced its “V4 Cabinet”, which the automaker claims will enable of “delivering up to 500kW for cars and 1.2MW for Semi.”
Here are the main features of the V4 Cabinet as per Tesla:
- Faster charging: Supports 400V-1000V vehicle architectures, including 30% faster charging for Cybertruck. S3XY vehicles enjoy 250kW charge rates they already experience on V3 Cabinet — charging up to 200 miles in 15 minutes.
- Faster deployments: V4 Cabinet powers 8 posts, 2X the stalls per cabinet. Lower footprint and complexity = more sites coming online faster.
- Next-generation hardware: Cutting-edge power electronics designed to be the most reliable on the planet, with 3X power density enabling higher throughput with lower costs.
Tesla reports that its first sites with the new V4 Cabinets are going into permitting now. The company expects its first sites to open next year.
We recently reported about Tesla’s new Oasis Supercharger project, which includes larger solar arrays and battery packs to operate the charging station mostly off-grid.
Early in the deployment of the Supercharger network, Tesla promised to add solar arrays and batteries to all Supercharger stations, and Musk even said that most stations would be able to operate off-grid.
While Tesla did add solar and batteries to a few stations, the vast majority of them don’t have their own power system or have only minimal solar canopies.
Back in 2016, I asked Musk about this, and he said that it would now happen as Tesla had the “pieces now in place” with Supercharger V3, Powerpack V2, and SolarCity:
It took about 8 years, but it sounds like the pieces are now getting actually in place with Supercharger V4, Megapacks, and this new Oasis project.
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Hyundai has a new secret weapon it’s about ready to unleash. To revamp the brand in China and counter BYD’s surge, Hyundai is launching a new AI-powered EV next year. The new model will be Hyundai’s first dedicated electric car for the world’s largest EV market.
With the help of Haomo, a Chinese autonomous startup, Hyundai will launch its first EV equipped with generative AI. It will also be its first model designed specifically for China.
A Hyundai Motor official said (via The Korea Herald) the company is “working to load the software” onto the new EV model, “which will be released in the Chinese market next year.” The spokesperson added, “The level of autonomous driving is somewhere between 2 and 2.5.”
In comparison, Tesla’s Autopilot is considered a level 2 advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) on the SAE scale (0 to 5), meaning it offers limited hands-free features.
With Autopilot, you still have to keep your eyes on the road and hands on the steering wheel, or the system will notify you and eventually disengage.
Haomo’s system, DriveGPT, unveiled last spring, takes inspiration from the OpenAI’s popular ChatGPT.
The system can continuously update in real-time to optimize decision-making by absorbing traffic data patterns. According to Haomo, DriveGPT is used in around 20 models as it looks to play a bigger role in China.
Hyundai hopes new AI-powered EV boosts sales in China
Electric vehicle sales continue surging in China. According to Rho Motion, China set another EV sales record last month with 1.2 million units sold, up 50% from October 2023.
Over 8.4 million EVs were sold in China in the first ten months of 2024, a notable 38% increase from last year.
BYD continues to dominate its home market. According to Autovista24, BYD accounted for 32.9% of all PHEV and EV (NEV) sales in China through September, with over half of the top 20 best-selling EV models.
Tesla was second with a 6.5% share of the market, but keep in mind these numbers only include plug-in models (PHEV).
Like most foreign automakers, Hyundai is struggling to keep up with the influx of low-cost electric models in China. Beijing Hyundai’s sales have been slipping since 2017. Through September, Korean automaker’s share of the Chinese market fell to just 1.2%.
Last month, Hyundai opened its first overseas digital R&D center in China to help kick off its return to the region.
According to local reports, Hyundai is partnering with other local tech companies like Thundersoft, a smart cockpit provider, and others in China to power up its next-gen EVs
With its first AI-powered EV launching next year, Hyundai hopes to turn things around in the region quickly. The new model will be one of five to launch in China through 2026.
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