🔋 Solar panels and batteries dominate new power generation in the US in 2025

• The US is expected to install 63 gigawatts of new electricity production capacity in 2025, an increase of almost 30 percent compared to 2024.
• Solar energy and battery storage will account for 81 percent of the total capacity increase, with solar energy representing over 50 percent.
• While renewable energy grows, coal power continues to decrease. The US will decommission twice as much coal power capacity this year compared to last year.

Record growth for solar energy

In 2024, 30 gigawatts of utility-scale solar energy was added to the American power grid, accounting for 61 percent of all new capacity installed that year. This trend is expected to continue in 2025, with a planned installation of 32.5 gigawatts of new utility-scale solar energy capacity, according to the latest forecast from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Texas will lead the expansion with 11.6 gigawatts, followed by California with 2.9 gigawatts. These two states will together account for almost half of the new solar energy capacity. An additional five states - Indiana, Arizona, Michigan, Florida, and New York - are each expected to install more than 1 gigawatt of solar energy during 2025, with a combined capacity of 7.8 gigawatts.

Battery storage reaches new heights

Battery storage is also expected to set new records in 2025, with a planned expansion of 18.2 gigawatts. This follows an already record-breaking expansion in 2024, when 10.3 gigawatts of new battery storage capacity was added to the grid.

This growth demonstrates the increasing importance of battery storage when used in conjunction with renewable energy, as it helps balance supply and demand and improves grid stability. Unlike primary electricity sources that create electricity from fuel or natural resources, battery systems store electricity that has already been produced.

Wind power and natural gas

Wind power growth is more limited, with an expected expansion of 7.7 gigawatts during 2025. This can be compared to only 5.1 gigawatts in 2024, which was the smallest wind power expansion since 2014. Texas, Wyoming, and Massachusetts will account for almost half of the expansion.

Two large offshore wind farms are expected to become operational during the year: Vineyard Wind 1 in Massachusetts with 800 megawatts of capacity and Revolution Wind in Rhode Island with 715 megawatts.

For natural gas, an expansion of 4.4 gigawatts is planned during 2025. Of this, 50 percent will come from simple-cycle gas turbines and 36 percent from combined-cycle power plants. Utah, Louisiana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Tennessee will together account for more than 70 percent of the planned natural gas expansion.

The decline of coal power

While renewable energy grows, coal power continues to decrease. The US will decommission twice as much coal power capacity this year compared to last year, corresponding to approximately 5 percent of the country's coal power fleet. The rapid expansion of solar energy and batteries is considered a contributing factor to the phasing out of coal power from the electricity grid.

The remaining coal power plants are also producing less and less electricity. With lower production, facilities may find it difficult to cover their fixed operating costs, leading to higher prices for coal-generated electricity.

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