Brief: Solar Makes Up 66% of All New U.S. Generating Capacity

U.S. solar generating capacity grew 50 GW in 2024, accounting for 66% of all new U.S. generating capacity added last year, according to today's SEIA report.

March 11, 2025 • Est. Reading Time: 3 minutes

Mobius Intel Brief:

U.S. solar capacity grew by a record 40.99 GWdc (+21% Y/Y) and accounted for nearly two-thirds of all new generation capacity added to the U.S. grid last year, data from the Solar Energy Industries Association’s (SEIA) 2024 year in review report showed today.

Key Intel:

  • Data from the Department of Energy and Wood Mackenzie shows new solar represented 66% of all new power generation capacity added to the U.S. grid last year—the largest share captured by a single generating resource in data since at least 2010. (Chart Below)

  • All Renewables: New solar, wind, and power storage systems accounted for approximately 94% of all U.S. generating capacity growth last year, up from an 81% aggregate share in 2023.

  • Gas-Fired Capacity: The EIA’s data shows the share of gas-fired capacity fell to 4% of all new generating capacity added to the U.S. grid in 2024, down from a 57% share in 2018 as Inflation Reduction Act incentives and regulatory hurdles cut investment appetite in both new gas-fired generation units and upstream turbine manufacturing capacity.

  • This Week’s Records: 2025 generation data reflects last year’s record solar capacity growth. In the past week, independent system operators (ISOs) MISO, ERCOT, ISONE, SPP, and PJM have all set new all-time high instantaneous solar generation records. Three of those records arrived today, as solar output hit 11.94 GW in MISO, 818 MW in ISONE, and 685 MW in SPP. ERCOT set a new solar output record of 25.02 GW yesterday, and PJM set a new high of 10.95 GW last week.

Dive Deeper:

This commentary contains our views and opinions and is based on information from sources we believe are reliable. This commentary is for informational purposes, should not be considered investment advice, and is not intended as an offer or solicitation with respect to the purchase and sale of commodity interests or to serve as the basis for one to decide to execute derivatives or other transactions. This commentary is exclusively intended for Mobius clients and is not considered promotional material.