10.8 gigawatts of new power generation capacity came online in the second quarter of 2023. Following the trend of the last two years, over half of that capacity was solar power (5.5 gigawatts). Gas plant development surged this quarter, with about 3.8 gigawatts of generation capacity coming online. Wind power contributed 1.5 gigawatts of new electric power generation capacity this quarter, a relatively meager showing.
In the chart below, we illustrate the past two years of new electric power capacity in the U.S., disaggregated by energy source on a quarterly basis.
Key takeaways:
- With 5.5 gigawatts installed in the second quarter of 2023, solar contributed more than half of new generation capacity for the fourth quarter in a row.
- California has been propelling the residential solar market, but a net metering rollback that took effect on April 15th will slow solar adoption in the state.
- The second quarter of 2023 was the strongest quarter for gas plan construction since the second quarter of 2022.
- Wind power development slowed even further from its fourth quarter slowdown, with only 1.4 gigawatts of new utility-scale wind farms. All of this new wind generation capacity is onshore.
- 1.3 gigawatts of utility-scale storage came online in the second quarter of 2023.
For more on the advancement of clean, distributed energy, see these recent ILSR resources:
- Against All Reason, Indiana Dismantles Rooftop Solar — Episode 193 of Local Energy Rules
- Community Solar Tracker
- Don’t Follow California’s Lead on Rooftop Solar — Episode 192 of Local Energy Rules
- Portland Funds Community-Led Clean Energy Projects — Episode 190 of Local Energy Rules
- Maryland’s Community Solar Program
- 13 States Flunk This Standard Test — Episode 188 of Local Energy Rules
Interested in earlier trends and analysis of new power plant capacity? Check out our archive, illustrating how electricity generation has changed in previous quarters and years.
This article originally posted at ilsr.org. For timely updates, follow John Farrell on Twitter or get the Energy Democracy weekly update.
Featured Photo Credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture via Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0)
