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 June 2021

• From January to June 2021, cumulative total solar generation totaled 80,842 GWh. This is a 19.5% increase over the same time period in 2020. During this time period in 2021, utility scale solar accounted for 69.4% of total solar generation and small scale solar came in at 30.3%.
• From January to June 2021, cumulative utility scale solar generation totaled 56,313 GWh. This is a 21.2% increase over the same time period in 2020.
• From January to June 2021, cumulative distributed or small scale solar generation totaled 24,550 GWh. This is a 15.6% increase over the same time period in 2020.
• In June 2021 utility scale solar and small scale solar generation was 11,741 GWh and 5,122 GWh, respectively. Compared to June 2020, this represents a 17.9% increase in utility scale solar generation and a 16.6% increase in small scale solar generation.
• In June 2021, small scale residential solar represented 61.9% of total small scale solar generation. Commercial and industrial represented 30.4% and 7.7%, respectively.
• In June 2021, the top 5 states for small scale solar generation were California (2,062 GWh), Arizona (333 GWh), New York (297 GWh), New Jersey (295 GWh), and Massachusetts (281 GWh).
• In June 2021, the top 5 states for utility scale solar generation were California (3,488 GWh), Texas (1,425 GWh), North Carolonia (1,074 GWh), Florida (792 GWh), and Nevada (694 GWh).

U.S. Battery Capacity and Projects Through June 2021

• In June 2021, 15 operational battery projects were added in the U.S., accounting for an additional 266 MW of capacity. Compared to May, cumulative operational battery capacity increased by 11.2% in June.
• From January to June 2021, cumulative operational battery projects totaled 251 with a capacity of 2,634 MW.
• Future planned capacity decreased by 228 MW in June 2021, reaching a total of 12,915 MW. (vs 13,143 MW in May 2021).
• From January 2021 to June 2021, a total of 37 battery projects have been added in the U.S., accounting for an additional 1,140 MW of capacity.
• Since January 2020, U.S. operational battery capacity has increased by 1,646 MW or 167%.
• As of June 2021, 84.0% of battery capacity were owned by Non-CHP IPPs and 15.7% were owned by utilities.
• In June 2021, the top 5 states ranked by battery capacity were California (1,431.9 MW), Texas (342.9 MW), Illinois (132.7 MW), Massachusetts (98.4 MW), and Arizona (97.0 MW).
• In June 2021, the top 5 battery project owners ranked by capacity were Vistra Energy (300.0 MW), NextEra Energy (293.0), LS Power (250.0 MW), AES (208.3 MW), and Tesla (118.1 MW).
• In June 2021, the top 5 battery project owners ranked by number of projects were AES (23), Advanced Microgrid Solutions (14), SDG&E (10), Tesla (8), and Broad Reach Power (8).