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 August 2021

• From January to August 2021, cumulative total solar generation totaled 114,321 GWh. This is an 18.0% increase over the same time period in 2020. During this time period in 2021, utility scale solar accounted for 70.0% of total solar generation and small scale solar came in at 30.0%.
• From January to August 2021, cumulative utility scale solar generation totaled 79,616 GWh. This is a 19.1% increase over the same time period in 2020.
• From January to August 2021, cumulative distributed or small scale solar generation totaled 34,726 GWh. This is a 15.6% increase over the same time period in 2020.
• In August 2021 utility scale solar and small scale solar generation was 11,579 GWh and 4,956 GWh, respectively. Compared to August 2020, this represents a 17.9% increase in utility scale solar generation and a 15.2% increase in small scale solar generation.
• In August 2021, small scale residential solar represented 60.6% of total small scale solar generation. Commercial and industrial represented 32.7% and 7.9%, respectively.
• In August 2021, the top 5 states for small scale solar generation were California (2,007 GWh), Arizona (303 GWh), New York (284 GWh), New Jersey (265 GWh), and Massachusetts (256 GWh).
• In August 2021, the top 5 states for utility scale solar generation were California (3,253 GWh), Texas (1,512 GWh), North Carolonia (1,069 GWh), Florida (802 GWh), and Nevada (712 GWh).

U.S. Battery Capacity and Projects Through August 2021

• In August 2021, 4 operational battery projects were added in the U.S., accounting for an additional 61 MW of capacity. Compared to July, cumulative operational battery capacity increased by 2.1% in August.
• From January to August 2021, cumulative operational battery projects totaled 263 with a capacity of 2,940 MW.
• Future planned capacity decreased by 34 MW in August 2021, reaching a total of 13,019 MW. (vs 12,985 MW in July 2021).
• From January 2021 to August 2021, a total of 49 battery projects have been added in the U.S., accounting for an additional 1,448 MW of capacity.
• Since January 2020, U.S. operational battery capacity has increased by 1,904 MW or 193%.
• As of August 2021, 85.2% of battery capacity were owned by Non-CHP IPPs and 14.6% were owned by utilities.
• In August 2021, the top 5 states ranked by battery capacity were California (1,706.9 MW), Texas (352.8 MW), Illinois (132.7 MW), Massachusetts (109.4 MW), and Arizona (97.0 MW).
• In August 2021, the top 5 battery project owners ranked by capacity were NextEra Energy (523.0), Vistra Energy (300.0 MW), LS Power (250.0 MW), AES (214.3 MW), and Tesla (118.1 MW).
• In August 2021, the top 5 battery project owners ranked by number of projects were AES (26), Advanced Microgrid Solutions (14), SDG&E (10), Broad Reach Power (9), and Tesla (8).