U.S. clean energy industry surpassed 100 GW of installed solar capacity in Q1 2024

This year has already brought major milestones for the U.S. clean energy industry, with solar topping 100 GW at utility-scale, 5.6 GW of new clean power added in the first quarter and the first offshore wind project in federal waters now supplying power to the grid.

In its Clean Power Quarterly Market Report for Q1 2024, the American Clean Power Association (ACP) revealed significant growth, including power deployments that were up 28 percent year-over-year. Those additions were enough to power 1 million homes with clean energy on their own.

It was a good year for both solar and wind projects. While the former saw a record milestone achieved, wind also saw payoff from the first large, successful foray into offshore wind from federal waters, which added 132 MW of grid capacity. It all pointed to a remarkable uptick in pacing as well, given that it took 18 years for the U.S. to build out its first 50 GW of solar capacity, but just four years to doubledown.

“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,” John Hensley, ACP’s vice president 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.”

Of note, nearly 40 percent of the newly installed solar for the quarter was built in Florida. South Fork Wind was built off the coast of New York.

On top of new installments, the ACP also reported a surge in power purchase agreements (PPAs), as utilities and corporate buyers sought out renewable options. More than 7,700 MW of new agreements were announced – a 52 percent increase over Q1 2023.

Battery storage is also growing, at an average rate of 11 percent per quarter – although they were flat compared to the same period in 2023. ACP indicated hope even there, though, as the pipeline for those projects has increased to 31.6 GW in the near-term. That is a jump of 61 percent year-over-year.