Solar energy additions to the U.S. grid are continuing their charge as the Energy Information Administration (EIA) revised its forecast to show more growth in its Short-Term Energy Outlook report.
Solar is on an impressive growth ramp, reaching 91 GW of cumulative capacity by the end of 2023 and 121 GW by the end of 2024. EIA expects 26.3% growth in installations in 2025, reaching 153 GW of installed capacity through the end of the year. In 2026 it expects another 19.5% growth in cumulative capacity in 2026, reaching 182 GW.
This growth represents a doubling of cumulative solar capacity in the United States in just three years. The figures from EIA mark a slight upward revision from its forecast released last month.
EIA said it expects Texas to lead the way in 2025 with about 11.6 GW installed, followed by California with 2.9 GW. The two are expected to account for almost half of the new utility-scale solar capacity.
It expects five other states (Indiana, Arizona, Michigan, Florida and New York) each to account for more than 1 GW of added solar capacity in 2025 and collectively account for 7.8 GW of planned solar capacity additions.
Battery energy storage capacity meanwhile is undergoing unprecedented growth. A record 10.3 GW of grid-scale storage was added in 2024, and this record is expected to be smashed in 2025.
EIA expects 18.2 GW of utility-scale battery storage capacity installations in 2025. This would represent roughly 70% growth from the 26 GW of cumulative capacity installed through 2024 and adds to the 66% growth last year. Roughly half of U.S. grid-scale storage is in California.
“This growth highlights the importance of battery storage when used with renewable energy, helping to balance supply and demand and improve grid stability,” said EIA.
Together, solar and energy storage represented 81% of grid capacity additions in 2024, with 52% represented by solar and 29% by battery energy storage. This is followed by wind (12%) and natural gas (7%).
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.