Solar Power to Lead New U.S. Electric Generating Capacity in 2022: EIA

Solar is expected to account for almost 50 percent of planned U.S. electric generating capacity additions in 2022, followed by natural gas-fired and wind encompassing 21 percent and wind 17 percent, respectively, according to a Jan. 10 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

EIA forecasts 46.1 gigawatts of new utility-scale electric generating capacity will be added to the grid in 2022, including 21.5 gigawatts of solar, an increase from 15.5 gigawatts of new capacity additions last year. Texas accounts for 6.1 gigawatts (28 percent of the national total) of the projected capacity, followed by California at 4 gigawatts.

About 9.6 gigawatts of new gas capacity is projected, with combined-cycle plants representing 8.1 gigawatts and combustion-turbine plants 1.4 gigawatts. Nearly all the planned addition capacity will be in Ohio, Florida, Michigan, and Illinois.

EIA foresees 7.6 gigawatts of wind capacity online in 2021, well below the record 17.1 gigawatts of capacity installed last year. About 51 percent of the new wind capacity will come from Texas. Oklahoma’s 999 megawatts Traverse Wind Energy Center is scheduled to start commercial operations in April, making it the largest wind project in 2022.

Nuclear is anticipated to account for 5 percent of planned electric capacity additions as two new reactors at the Vogtle nuclear power plant in Georgia come online.

Battery storage is expected to grow by 84 percent in 2022. A 5.1 gigawatts of utility-scale storage will be added within the year, an increase of 84 percent over 2021. The growth is attributed to the decline in battery storage costs as well as the deployment of renewable energy and adding value through the wholesale electricity markets.