Utility-scale solar has expanded from a specialized generating source into a major part of electricity planning. The measures below distinguish U.S. fleet definitions, global newly commissioned projects, observed outcomes, modeled estimates and forecasts.
Key Utility-Scale Solar Statistics
The most broadly useful figures span capacity, generation, costs, performance and the development pipeline:
- In 2023, U.S. utility-scale PV additions reached 18.5 GWAC across projects above Berkeley Lab’s 5 MWAC threshold.
- At the end of 2023, U.S. cumulative utility-scale PV capacity exceeded 80.2 GWAC across 47 states.
- U.S. EIA utility-scale solar PV net summer capacity reached 122,061.8 MW in 2024.
- U.S. utility-scale solar PV generation reached 216,715 thousand MWh in 2024.
- In August 2024, California, Texas and Florida together had 49.5 GW of operating utility-scale solar capacity.
- In 2023, global solar PV additions totaled 346 GW, including utility-scale and other PV.
- In 2023, China represented 63% of global solar PV additions.
- The 2023 global weighted-average installed cost for newly commissioned utility-scale PV was $758/kW.
- Global utility-scale PV LCOE fell to $0.044/kWh in 2023, a 12% decrease from 2022.
- From 2010 to 2023, global utility-scale PV installed cost declined 86%, from $5,310/kW to $758/kW.
- From 2010 to 2023, global utility-scale PV LCOE declined 90%, from $0.460/kWh to $0.044/kWh.
- In 2023, the median U.S. utility-scale solar plant capacity factor was 24%.
- New U.S. utility-scale solar projects had a modeled 2023 LCOE of $46/MWh before federal incentives.
- Newly signed longer-term U.S. utility-scale solar PPAs averaged $35/MWh in 2023 dollars in 2023.
- Fifty-two new U.S. PV-plus-battery hybrid plants totaling 5.3 GW were installed in 2023.
- At the end of 2023, 571 GW, or 53% of queued U.S. solar capacity, was paired with batteries.
- Historically, only 10% of requested U.S. solar queue capacity has been built.
Contents
- What counts as utility-scale solar and how U.S. capacity is measured
- U.S. utility-scale solar capacity trends
- Utility-scale solar generation data and seasonality
- Global utility-scale solar deployment and cost trends
- Utility-scale solar performance, value and outcomes
- Solar-plus-storage and the interconnection pipeline
What Counts as Utility-Scale Solar and How U.S. Capacity Is Measured
Definitions determine which plants enter a statistics series. Berkeley Lab’s U.S. utility-scale solar dataset covers ground-mounted PV, PV-plus-battery and concentrating solar-thermal plants larger than 5 MWAC, excluding PV plants at or below 5 MWAC.
The EIA series separates utility-scale PV from estimated small-scale PV and reports net summer generating capacity. These series therefore describe related but non-identical populations.
| Measure | Period | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Berkeley Lab threshold | 2023 fleet analyzed in 2024 edition | Above 5 MWAC |
| U.S. utility-scale PV additions | 2023 | 18.5 GWAC |
| Cumulative U.S. utility-scale PV | End of 2023 | More than 80.2 GWAC across 47 states |
| EIA utility-scale PV capacity | 2014 | 8,656.6 MW net summer capacity |
| EIA utility-scale PV capacity | 2024 | 122,061.8 MW net summer capacity |
Sources: Utility-Scale Solar, 2024 Edition and Electric Power Annual.
The Berkeley Lab fleet definition is plant-level and threshold-based, while EIA’s annual capacity series is an all-sectors utility-scale PV series that excludes estimated small-scale PV. Capacity figures should not be treated as interchangeable without checking the definition.
U.S. Utility-Scale Solar Capacity Trends
EIA’s annual series shows a sustained increase in U.S. utility-scale solar PV net summer capacity. The reported values rose from 11,905.4 MW in 2015 to 20,192.9 MW in 2016, then reached 30,120.5 MW in 2018 and 46,306.2 MW in 2020.
| Year | U.S. utility-scale solar PV capacity |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 11,905.4 MW |
| 2016 | 20,192.9 MW |
| 2018 | 30,120.5 MW |
| 2020 | 46,306.2 MW |
| 2021 | 60,070.1 MW |
| 2022 | 71,381.5 MW |
| 2023 | 90,517.8 MW |
Source: Electric Power Annual. These are EIA utility-scale PV capacity values, not estimates of small-scale PV.
The August 2024 preliminary inventory shows geographic concentration among leading states:
- California had 21.0 GW of utility-scale solar capacity.
- Texas had 18.8 GW.
- California, Texas and Florida together had 49.5 GW.
Source: Utility-scale U.S. solar electricity generation continues to grow in 2024. The state inventory is preliminary and dated August 2024.
Utility-Scale Solar Generation Data and Seasonality
Generation increased alongside capacity in the EIA electric-utility series. U.S. utility-scale solar PV produced 15,250 thousand MWh in 2014 and 60,234 thousand MWh in 2018, followed by 86,066 thousand MWh in 2020.
| Year | Utility-scale solar PV generation |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 15,250 thousand MWh |
| 2018 | 60,234 thousand MWh |
| 2020 | 86,066 thousand MWh |
| 2021 | 112,335 thousand MWh |
| 2022 | 140,793 thousand MWh |
| 2023 | 162,683 thousand MWh |
| 2024 | 216,715 thousand MWh |
Source: Electric Power Annual – Table 1.2. The 2024 value is the final EIA value in this series.
Solar output is concentrated in daylight hours rather than distributed evenly across a full day. In August 2024, Lower-48 utility-scale solar generation averaged 63.1 GWh per day between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., a daylight-window average rather than a 24-hour generation figure.
Source: Utility-scale U.S. solar electricity generation continues to grow in 2024.
Global Utility-Scale Solar Deployment and Cost Trends
Global figures cover a broader market than utility-scale plants alone in some measures. IRENA reported 346 GW of global solar PV additions in 2023, up 73% year on year, with China representing 63% of the global solar PV market; these additions include utility-scale and other PV.
For newly commissioned utility-scale solar PV projects, IRENA’s global weighted-average installed cost was $758/kW in 2023, down 17% from $908/kW in 2022. The global weighted-average LCOE fell 12% from 2022 to $0.044/kWh in 2023.
| Measure | Earlier point | 2023 point | Reported change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utility-scale PV installed cost | $5,310/kW in 2010 | $758/kW | 86% decline |
| Utility-scale PV LCOE | $0.460/kWh in 2010 | $0.044/kWh | 90% decline |
| Capacity factor | 14% in 2010 | 16% | Increase |
| Module prices | December 2009 | December 2023 | About 93% decline |
Source: Renewable power generation costs in 2023: Executive summary.
IRENA’s cost series uses 2023 U.S. dollars and weighted averages for newly commissioned projects, so it is descriptive rather than a quote for a particular plant. Its component trends also show declines from 2018 to 2023: soft costs fell 59%, module-and-inverter costs fell 46%, balance-of-system hardware costs fell 39% and installation costs fell 36%.
Utility-Scale Solar Performance, Value and Outcomes
The 2023 Berkeley Lab sample recorded U.S. utility-scale solar plant capacity factors from 7% to 37%, with a median of 24%. These are observed plant-level values on an AC basis, not a universal performance assumption for every project.
Cost and contract measures describe different aspects of project economics:
- Berkeley Lab modeled the LCOE of new U.S. utility-scale solar projects at $46/MWh before tax credits in 2023 and $31/MWh after federal incentives, assuming applicable incentives.
- Newly signed longer-term U.S. utility-scale solar PPAs averaged $35/MWh levelized in 2023 dollars in 2023; this was a sample of longer-term contracts.
- U.S. utility-scale solar’s average energy and capacity value was $45/MWh in 2023, based on modeled wholesale energy and capacity value.
- Average market value was $27/MWh in CAISO and $67/MWh in ERCOT in 2023.
Source: Utility-Scale Solar, 2024 Edition.
Projects built in 2022 delivered an estimated $15/MWh more market value than generation cost in 2023. Berkeley Lab estimated $1.1 billion in 2023 benefits for newer projects under that market-value-minus-generation-cost definition.
Broader modeled outcomes were larger when externalities were included. U.S. utility-scale solar produced an estimated $13.7 billion in net benefits in 2023, while modeled health benefits were $24/MWh and avoided global climate damages were $101/MWh; these are not direct cash revenue.
Solar-Plus-Storage and the Interconnection Pipeline
Storage pairing is becoming a visible part of the U.S. utility-scale development picture. Fifty-two new PV-plus-battery hybrid plants totaling 5.3 GW were installed in 2023.
At the end of 2023, at least 1,085 GW of solar capacity was in U.S. interconnection queues. Nearly 571 GW, or 53% of queued solar capacity, was paired with a battery, while battery pairing reached 98% of queued solar capacity in CAISO.
Queue data describes requests, not guaranteed construction. Historically, only 10% of requested U.S. solar queue capacity has been built, so the queue total should not be read as a forecast of realized additions.
Near-term EIA plans also require a forecast label:
- Developers planned 62.8 GW of new U.S. utility-scale electric-generating capacity for 2024 in the December 2023 inventory.
- EIA expected solar to represent 58% of planned U.S. utility-scale generating-capacity additions in 2024 and scheduled 36.4 GW of utility-scale solar additions.
- Texas accounted for 35% of planned 2024 U.S. utility-scale solar additions, followed by California at 10% and Florida at 6%.
- In an October 2024 forecast, EIA expected developers to add 24 GW of solar generating capacity between August and December 2024, with solar representing 63% of U.S. generating capacity coming online in those final five months.
Source: Utility-Scale Solar, 2024 Edition, Solar and battery storage to make up 81% of new U.S. electric-generating capacity in 2024, and Utility-scale U.S. solar electricity generation continues to grow in 2024. The 2024 EIA figures are inventory-based forecasts or scheduled additions, not realized capacity; the October forecast is explicitly not a final realized-additions measure.