The Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects 46.1 gigawatts (GW) of new utility-scale electric generating capacity to be added to the U.S power grid in 2022.
Nearly half (46%) of the planned 2022 capacity additions will be solar, followed by natural gas at 21% and wind at 17%.
EIA expects utility-scale solar generating capacity to grow by 21.5 GW in 2022. This planned new capacity would surpass last year’s 15.5 GW of solar capacity additions, an estimate based on reported additions through October (8.7 GW) and additions scheduled for the last two months of 2021 (6.9 GW).
Most planned solar additions will be in Texas (6.1 GW, or 28% of the national total), followed by California (4.0 GW).
EIA also expects utility-scale battery storage capacity to grow by 5.1 GW, or 84%, in 2022.
Several factors have helped expand the battery storage market, including declining costs, deployment with renewables and added value through regional transmission organization (RTO) markets.
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