Over the past 12 months, solar photovoltaic sources accounted for more than 6.8% of all electricity generated in the U.S., up from 5.5% in 2023, a 24% year-over-year increase, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA). This growth occurred despite a 3.1% increase in total U.S. electricity generation.
In absolute terms, solar generation expanded by 27%, a figure somewhat obscured by the overall rise in electricity demand.
According to the EIA’s Electric Power Monthly Report, total solar photovoltaic generation surpassed 300 TWh, an increase of 64 TWh from the prior year. This 27% growth was the largest absolute increase in solar generation since 2016, despite coming from a much larger installed base.
Utility-scale solar expanded by 32%, while distributed solar grew by 15.3%, according to the EIA. As a share of total U.S. generation, utility-scale solar now accounts for nearly 5%, while distributed solar contributes just over 1.9%.
Last year, pv magazine USA correctly forecast that solar would reach 6.9% of total U.S. electricity generation based on the 35.3 GW of new capacity deployed in 2023.
Wind and solar together supplied 17.2% of all U.S. electricity. Three states—Iowa, South Dakota, and Kansas—now generate more than 50% of their electricity from these two sources. All three states are strong wind generators, while solar plays a smaller role in their generation mix.
After two years of stagnation, CO₂-free electricity generation increased, surpassing 40.9% of total U.S. generation by the end of 2024, up from 39.5% the previous year.
The majority of this growth came from wind and solar, which raised their combined share from 15.4% to 17.2%, a 1.7% increase that outpaced the 1.4% overall growth of CO₂-free generation. A slight decline in hydroelectric generation was offset by increased nuclear output.
Several states saw solar generation grow by more than 50% in 2024. South Dakota led the way with a dramatic 7,000% increase, as the state brought its first two utility-scale solar facilities online.
Two states, Maine and New Mexico, stood out as high-growth markets because they grew from a base of already strong solar generation, surpassing 10% solar generation for the first time. Much of their growth came from community solar installations.
The gap between the top ten solar-generating states and the bottom ten remains vast. However, when considering long-term decarbonization, the picture is more nuanced. Last year, pv magazine USA examined the five “solar laggards” and found that Oklahoma, Kansas and North Dakota, despite ranking low in solar, are strong wind-power producers. Meanwhile, Alaska, which experiences months of minimal to zero sunlight, is an understandable exception. That leaves West Virginia as the nation’s true laggard in both solar and clean energy. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, West Virginia is ranked 48th in the nation for solar, getting only .41% of its electricity from the sun.
For more detail, see PV Intel’s 50 states of solar.
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