US wind and PV industry reports milestones and strong growth in first quarter

Operating utility-scale photovoltaic surpasses 100 GW. 5.6 GW of new clean power online in Q1 2024, up 28% year-over-year. First large-scale offshore wind power project in federal waters supplies 132 MW of grid capacity,

In an impressive start to the year, the American Clean Power Association (ACP) revealed that the U.S. utility-scale solar, wind, and storage sectors added a combined 5,585 megawatts (MW) of new capacity in the first quarter of 2024, marking an increase of 28% compared to installations in the same period a year ago. These additions are enough to power 1 million homes with clean energy. 

ACP’s new Clean Power Quarterly Market Report | Q1 2024 finds the industry also reached significant milestones in the first quarter: utility-scale solar surpassed 100 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity, and the first offshore wind project in federal waters began supplying 132 MW of clean, reliable power to the grid.  

“The first quarter of 2024 set the pace for the year, underscoring both an industry that continues to break barriers and the increasing demand for clean energy solutions,” said John Hensley, ACP’s VP of Markets and Policy Analysis. “Crossing the 100 GW milestone for solar, launching groundbreaking projects like South Fork Wind, and a record-setting pace of new contracts for clean energy are clear indicators of the public’s demand to bolster the grid with domestic, reliable and affordable clean energy.” 

Key highlights from the Q1 2024 report include: 

• Utility-Scale Solar Hits Major Milestone: For the first time, operating utility-scale solar capacity surpassed 100 GW.
  • It took 18 years to build the first 50 GW of U.S. solar capacity, but just four years to double to 100 GW.
  • A substantial 4,557 MW of new solar capacity was added in Q1 2024, contributing to the U.S. climbing to over 100,547 MW of installed utility-scale solar.
  • Nearly 40% of the newly installed solar in Q1 came online in Florida. 
• Historic Offshore Wind Deployment: The commissioning of the South Fork Wind project in March, the first large-scale offshore wind initiative in federal waters, added 132 MW of capacity off the coast of New York. 
• Significant Increase in Clean Power Procurement: Clean power procurement saw a robust 52% increase from Q1 2023, with 7,773 MW of new Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) as utilities and corporate buyers pursue renewables to power their businesses. This surge reflects growing confidence and demand for clean energy.

The clean energy future keeps getting brighter, with the clean power pipeline expanding to nearly 175 GW—the highest amount on record. The robust expansion of the pipeline can be attributed to battery storage and solar, which have grown at an average rate of 11% and 4% per quarter since the second quarter of 2022. 

While energy storage deployments were flat compared to the same period in the previous year, the pipeline for new storage projects increased by 61% year-over-year to 31.6 GW in the near-term pipeline, indicating strong future growth. 

The land-based wind market, despite a lackluster quarter, also saw its project pipeline expand, increasing 37% year-over-year to 13.7 GW. Wyoming and New Mexico are leading the charge for the technology, supplanting long-time market leader Texas. 

U.S. clean power capacity now stands at 269,878 MW—enough to power more than 68 million American homes. 

Read more about today’s clean energy industry trends in the Clean Power Quarterly Market Report | Q1 2024.