US added 10 GW of utility-scale solar in 2020

U.S. utility-scale solar generating capacity grew by 4,238 MW in the fourth quarter of 2020, capping a year of steady additions that resulted in 10,023 MW of new solar capacity in the U.S.

In a tough year marked by the coronavirus pandemic and the near-collapse of the economy, continuing solar installations were driven by rising corporate interest in renewable energy, state-level government solar policies and federal tax credits.

"The pandemic has caused virtually no delays in utility project construction, with developers and EPCs reporting only minor non-pandemic related delays to this point," the Solar Energy Industries Association said in a market report released in December. "The pandemic has also caused little to no slowdown in new project announcements. By and large, utilities have continued ramping up solar procurement in anticipation of the [investment tax credit] project completion deadline on December 31st, 2023." Congress in December extended by two years the tax credit in a COVID-19 relief package.

In 2020, utility-scale generating capacity additions increased by 77.8% from 2019, when the U.S. added 5,637 MW, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

With that, the U.S. now has 49,124 MW of installed utility-scale solar capacity. The figures do not include rooftop solar installations and are based on alternating-current output from operating solar plants.

Engie SA subsidiary ENGIE North America Inc. completed the largest solar plant by capacity in the fourth quarter, the 225-MW Long Draw Solar farm in Borden County, Texas. The plant will serve four municipalities.

Five of the eight largest projects to come online in the quarter are located in California, including the Golden Fields Solar III Project (Rosamond), which is owned by Clearway Renew LLC, a unit of Clearway Energy Group LLC, itself a subsidiary of Global Infrastructure Management Participation LLC. Clearway Energy Group announced plans for a 1.6 GW portfolio of renewable power generation projects in Dec. 2020.

The 150-MW Two Creeks Solar Project in Manitowoc County, Wis., also came online in the fourth quarter. WEC Energy Group Inc. subsidiary Wisconsin Public Service Corp. and MGE Energy Inc. subsidiary Madison Gas and Electric Company own the facility, which is the first large-scale solar project in the state.

New solar additions in the U.S. are dominated, though, by two companies: Invenergy LLC and NextEra Energy. Invenergy has capitalized on rising corporate interest in renewable energy. Verizon Communications Inc., for example, announced in January deals with Invenergy for four solar projects.

NextEra Chairman, President and CEO James Robo said in the company's fourth-quarter earnings call that Florida Power & Light Co. has placed more than 1,100 MW of solar in service as part of its SolarTogether community program and its "30-by-30" plan to install more than 30 million solar panels by 2030, "which is one of the world's largest solar expansions and would result in roughly 10,000 MW of total solar capacity on FPL's system by 2030."

NextEra is also building solar projects in other parts of the country. Its 500-MW Wagon Trail Solar Project in Morrow County, Ore., was the largest project announced in the quarter. The $650 million project is projected to go online in December 2023, according to S&P Market Intelligence data. Subsidiary NextEra Energy Resources LLC also plans to add an undisclosed amount of battery storage to the project. It will overlap with portions of NextEra's Wheatridge Wind Energy Facility and Wheatridge Solar & Battery Storage Facility.

Looking ahead, the U.S. has a solar project pipeline of 96 GW through 2025. That includes 11,543 MW of projects under construction, 8,379 MW in advanced development, 68,374 MW in early development and 7,812 MW of announced projects.

Texas has the highest amount of solar projects in advanced development or under construction, with 6,320 MW of such projects underway. The state's grid is transforming amid an energy crisis that has raised questions about reliability in inclement weather. By 2023, developers could add another 35 GW of new wind and solar capacity in the state.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration in January forecast that a record 15.4 GW of new utility-scale solar will be added in 2021, with 28% of the additions in Texas, 9% in Nevada and California, and 7% in North Carolina. At the end of 2019, solar accounted for 1.7% of U.S. electricity consumption, according to the EIA.