Author: PPD Team Date: 24/02/2025
The U.S. added nearly 50 GW of new solar generating capacity in 2024, according to the 2025 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook, released by the Business Council for Sustainable Energy and BloombergNEF.
The record 49 GW of new solar capacity helped meet rising energy demand and replace decommissioned thermal assets. Of this, 39.6 GW came from utility-scale projects, marking a 31.4 per cent year-over-year increase—the highest since 2017. Rooftop solar installations added close to 10 GW, with Texas leading in new utility-scale deployments.
Despite the growth, the levelized cost of energy for fixed-axis photovoltaic (PV) solar rose by 27 per cent to $63/MWh, as higher hardware costs offset tax credit benefits. The report highlights that solar remains one of the cheapest sources of new bulk generation, even with supply chain disruptions, high interest rates, and tariff uncertainties.
Efforts to reshore module production accelerated, with an estimated $8 billion invested in new solar, wind, battery, and electrolyzer manufacturing in 2024—up over $7 billion from 2022, driven by post-Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) factory commissioning, subsidies, import tariffs, and domestic content rules. However, the report warns that the U.S. factory pipeline is at risk, as new manufacturing announcements have slowed. Of the 264 investments since the IRA’s passage, fewer than 25 per cent were announced in 2024.
While domestic manufacturing ramps up, solar cell imports rose sharply. In the first nine months of 2024, U.S. solar cell imports reached $1.5 billion, a 154 per cent increase from 2023. Tariffs on solar imports from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam could impact future trade, prompting some manufacturers to shift sourcing to Laos and Indonesia. Additionally, over 30 GW of imported modules from these countries that were not installed before December 2024 may face tariffs.
Interconnection remains a key challenge, with many projects stalled in backlogged queues. Although new interconnection applications slowed, 93 GW of solar and 139 GW of storage capacity sought grid connection in 2024.
The report also noted that 2024 recorded the highest annual capacity additions of energy generation and storage in over two decades, with renewable power making up the largest share of new additions.