The American Clean Power Association (ACP) has released the Clean Power Quarterly Market Report | Q3 2023, showing that the industry brought online 5,551 megawatts (MW) of utility-scale clean power capacity in the third quarter of 2023.
Third quarter installations increased 13% over the same period in 2022 and across the country, clean energy developers began commercial operations at 88 projects across 24 states. The U.S. now has over 243 gigawatts (GW) of operating clean power, providing over 16% of U.S. electricity.
Grid-scale battery storage is being installed rapidly, having already exceeded total 2022 installations in just nine months. The industry connected 2,142 MW / 6,227 MWh of storage in the third quarter, bringing year-to-date installations to 4,374 MW / 13,444 MWh. Solar installed 3,121 MW in the quarter, outpacing the rate of installations in 2022 but slightly behind 2021 volumes. Just 288 MW of land-based wind capacity were commissioned in the third quarter, a 77% decline year-over-year. Year-to-date installations of solar, wind, and storage fell 6% as a slow first quarter and a sharp decrease in third quarter wind capacity additions contributed to the decline in year-to-date installation volumes.
As of the end of Q3 2023, the project pipeline increased 10% year-over-year to 145,545 MW. There are currently 59,568 MW under construction and 85,977 MW in advanced development. The battery storage pipeline is strongest, having grown by a 50% year-over-year, while the solar pipeline increased 8%.
