In 2021, solar power generation in the United States will increase by 25.23%, and solar energy will become the fastest growing source of electricity in the United States. Renewable energy accounts for 21.02% of all electricity. In terms of total production capacity, renewable energy seems to surpass coal in 2022. .
The data released in the U.S. Energy Information Administration's monthly electricity report was slightly higher than the EIA's forecast at the beginning of the year, but in line with the mid-year figure, according to an analysis of data from the Sun Day Campaign.
The EIA expects renewables to account for more than 22 percent of U.S. electricity generation this year, surpassing coal in one fell swoop.
In November, analysis by the Sun Day Campaign showed that in the first nine months of 2021, large-scale ground-based solar power capacity additions in the United States reached 8,410MW, up 38% from the same period in 2020. EIA expects 21.8GW of new large-scale ground-mounted solar projects and 4.4GW of small-scale solar projects to be connected to the grid in 2022, as well as 7.6GW of new wind power.
According to the report, the U.S. will add nearly 22 GW of large-scale ground-mounted solar capacity this year
Taken together, solar and wind energy will grow by 15.96% in 2021, accounting for more than one-eighth of U.S. electricity generation, or about 13.05%, of which wind energy is 9.12% and solar energy is 3.93%.
Natural gas is still the primary source of electricity generation in the United States, accounting for 37.82%, slightly lower than 40.12% in 2020, and coal rebounded to the second place, accounting for 21.58%, an increase of 16.20% compared with 2020.
Combined, solar and wind provide more than three-fifths, or 62.08%, of renewable electricity generation, continuing to outpace all other renewable energy sources in the United States.
Solar's share will jump significantly over the next few years, with FERC data showing that of the "highly likely to add" 106GW of capacity between October 2021 and September 2024, about 51.8GW will be solar.
Sun Day has previously said that if this high-probability forecast comes true, solar will account for about 8.9% of U.S. utility electricity capacity in 2024.
The Solar Energy Industry Association is calling for solar to account for 30% of all electricity generation in the United States by 2030, which requires the solar industry to develop over 700 GWdc of projects over the next decade to achieve nearly 850 GWdc of installed capacity