The American Clean Power Association (ACP) recently released its first Clean Power Annual report, which showed wind, utility solar and battery storage in the U.S. topped 170 gigawatts (GW), following a record 26 GW of clean energy projects coming online in 2020.
“The Clean Power Annual is a testament to the record growth and investment across the renewable energy industry in the United States today. The energy transition is well underway as we aim to meet important climate targets and create good-paying American jobs,” said Heather Zichal, CEO of the American Clean Power Association. “The clean power industry is helping to rebuild the U.S. economy while combating the climate crisis. We hope this report can be a tool and resource as our industry drives innovation and job creating investments in every American state.”
Installations included 16,836 MW of land-based wind, representing 50% of new additions 8,894 MW of utility-scale solar projects (28% of the market); and 760 MW of battery storage capacity. Combined wind, solar and battery storage power represented 78% of new power installations in 2020.
For comparison, in 2010 only 28% of new power installations were wind, solar and battery storage. The amount of new wind capacity in 2020 is more than three times the amount installed in 2010 and the amount of solar installed in 2020 is almost 4,000 percent higher than was installed in 2010, reflecting how cost declines and the growth in the industry have made wind and solar power competitive energy sources. There was only 4 MW of battery storage installed in 2010.
Clean power now delivers 10.7% of the nation's electricity, and current U.S. operating wind and solar capacity is capable of powering the equivalent of 50 million homes.
Additional report findings include:
- Over 415,000 Americans across all 50 states have direct clean energy jobs.
- Industry momentum with supportive policies and regulations has the potential to deliver over 1 million clean energy jobs by 2030.
- Texas leads all states with 37,443 MW of cumulative clean power capacity installed, followed by California (20,345 MW), Iowa (11,394 MW), Oklahoma (9,395 MW) and Kansas (7,058 MW).
- During 2020, wind and solar projects avoided 71 million cars' worth of carbon emissions, or 327 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.
For more information and findings, read the full press release from ACP.