The Clean Power Quarterly 2021 Q4 Market Report, released by the American Clean Power Association (ACP), shows the U.S. surpassed more than 200GW (200,209MW) of total operating utility-scale clean power capacity in 2021.
During 2021 there was a three percent decline for clean energy installations compared to 2020’s record year. Over 11.4GW of projects, originally expected to come online in 2021, slipped to 2022 or 2023 due to a variety of issues. For the solar sector this was due to trade policies and lack of regulatory certainty impacting the availability of solar panels coming into the country. The wind sector faced policy uncertainty, including the expiration of tax credits for wind projects.
Throughout 2021, the renewable energy sector installed 27.7GW (27,723 MW) of new utility-scale wind, solar, and energy storage capacity, with 10,520MW being installed in the fourth quarter. Wind power capacity installations for 2021 totalled 12,747MW for the year, with 5,409MW brought online in the fourth quarter. The solar sector overall installed 12,364 MW for the year, including 3,937 MW added in the fourth quarter. Battery storage installations totalled 2,599 MW in 2021, outpacing 2020 by over 1,500 MW. During the fourth quarter, 1,173 MW of battery storage projects were brought online, the first quarter ever to pass 1GW of new installations.
Throughout 2021, the renewable energy sector installed 27.7GW (27,723 MW) of new utility-scale wind, solar, and energy storage capacity, with 10,520MW being installed in the fourth quarter. Wind power capacity installations for 2021 totalled 12,747MW for the year, with 5,409MW brought online in the fourth quarter. The solar sector overall installed 12,364 MW for the year, including 3,937 MW added in the fourth quarter. Battery storage installations totalled 2,599 MW in 2021, outpacing 2020 by over 1,500 MW. During the fourth quarter, 1,173 MW of battery storage projects were brought online, the first quarter ever to pass 1GW of new installations.
There are now over 1,000 clean energy projects under development across the country, totalling 120,171 MW of new capacity in the development pipeline. This includes 37,802 MW under construction and 82,369 MW in advanced development.
