Summary

This monthly report tracks generation (MWh) trends of utility scale solar and small scale solar at the national
and state level. Small-scale solar PV installations, defined by having capacity of less than 1 megawatt (MW),
are usually located at the customer’s site of electricity consumption. In addition, capacity (MW) for battery
technology added by month is included in this report.
Note: Analysis excludes solar thermal generation.

Source

Analysis and data for this report was done by Zpryme using the U.S. EIA Monthly Energy Review, EIA form
861M detailed data, and EIA form EIA 860 monthly data.

U.S.Solar Trends Through May 2021

• From January to May 2021, cumulative total solar generation totaled 63,979.2 GWh. This is a 20.0%
  increase over the same time period in 2020. During this time period in 2021, utility scale solar accounted for 70.5% of total solar generation and small scale solar came in at 29.5%.
• From January to May 2021, cumulative utility scale solar generation totaled 44,572 GWh. This is a 22.0% increase over the same time period in 2020.
• From January to May 2021, cumulative distributed or small scale solar generation totaled 19,428.5GWh. This is a 15.3% increase over the same time period in 2020.
• In May 2021 utility scale solar and small scale solar generation was 12,073.0 GWh and 5,055.0 GWh, respectively. Compared to May 2020, this represents a 19.9% increase in utility scale solar generation and a 15.6% increase in small scale solar generation.
• In May 2021, small scale residential solar represented 61.8% of total small scale solar generation. Commercial and industrial represented 30.5% and 7.8%, respectively.
• In May 2021, the top 5 states for small scale solar generation were California (2,028 GWh), Arizona (346.0 GWh), New York (296.0 GWh), New Jersey (290.0 GWh), and Massachusetts (279.0 GWh).
• In May 2021, the top 5 states for utility scale solar generation were California (3,597.0 GWh), Texas (1,232.0 GWh), North Carolonia (1,151.0 GWh), Florida (1,018.0 GWh), and Nevada (676.0 GWh).

U.S. Battery Capacity and Projects Through May 2021

• In May 2021, 4 operational battery projects were added in the U.S., accounting for an additional 428.7
  MW of capacity. Compared to April, cumulative operational battery capacity increased by 22.1% in May.
• From January to May 2021, cumulative operational battery projects totaled 236 with a capacity of 2,368.0 MW.
• Future planned capacity decreased by 229.8 MW in May 2021, reaching a total of 13,142.8 MW. (vs 13,372.6 MW in April 2021).
• From January to May 2021, a total of 22 battery projects have been added in the U.S., accounting for an additional 874.3 MW of capacity.
• Since January 2020, U.S. operational battery capacity has increased by 1,380 MW or 139.7%.
• As of May 2021, 84.8% of battery capacity were owned by Non-CHP IPPs and 15.0% were owned by utilities.
• In May 2021, the top 5 states ranked by battery capacity were California (1,316.9 MW), Texas (233.1MW), Illinois (132.7 MW), and Hawaii (93.0 MW), and Massachusetts (88.5 MW).
• In May 2021, the top 5 battery project owners ranked by capacity were Vistra Energy (300.0 MW), LS Power (250.0 MW), NextEra Energy (230.0), AES (205.3 MW), and Strata Clean Energy (100.0 MW).
• In May 2021, the top 5 battery project owners ranked by number of projects were AES (22), Advanced Microgrid Solutions (14), Duke Energy (7), Tesla (7), and SDG&E (7).