According to the Sustainable Energy in America 2025 Factbook, the US added a record 49GW of solar capacity in 2024, marking the first time renewable energy accounted for over 1,000TWh of total electricity generation in a calendar year.
The record solar installations drove over 50GW of total renewable energy capacity additions in 2024, with the wind sector contributing an additional 5GW. However, solar added nearly ten times more capacity than wind in 2024, underscoring solar's dominant role in the US renewable energy sector. The report notes that 2024 saw record additions of new solar capacity, which helped renewable power account for 24% of all US power generation, while the renewable energy plus nuclear power reached a record 42% of total US electricity generation.
The conclusion of the report echoes the growing focus on the financial viability of solar-plus-storage in the renewable energy investment space. The US added 11.9GW of new storage capacity last year, a 55% increase from the previous year, marking the fifth consecutive year of record-breaking additions. The majority of this capacity was added in California and Texas, with these states and others in the southwest accounting for 84% of the new capacity added in 2024. Trends in storage investment also reflect broader clean energy investment trends, with the report highlighting that the US ranked fourth globally in storage investment in 2023, with China in first place.
