The US added 5.58GW of utility-scale solar and wind energy and storage in Q1 of 2024, according to a report from the American Clean Power Association.

The addition of new capacity, enough to power one million homes with clean energy, marks a 28 percent increase compared to installations in the same period a year ago.

Solar capacity surpasses 100GW

The company added that utility-scale solar surpassed 100GW of installed capacity and the first offshore wind project in federal waters, the South Fork Wind project, began supplying 132MW of clean power to the grid.

The report said it took 18 years to build the first 50GW of US solar capacity, but just four years to double to 100GW.

In Q1 2024, 4.5GW of new solar capacity was installed, with nearly 40 percent of that being located in Florida.

Pipeline supply and pipeline storage on the rise

Pipeline supply of clean power has expanded to nearly 175GW and can be attributed to battery storage and solar, which have grown at an average rate of 11 percent and four percent respectively since Q2 2022.

Energy storage deployments were flat compared to the same period in 2023, however, the pipeline for new storage projects has increased by 61 percent year-over-year to 31.6GW.

The land-based wind market also saw an expansion in its project pipeline, with a 37 percent year-over-year increase to 13.7GW. Wyoming and New Mexico are leading the charge in wind technology, overtaking long-time market leader Texas.

The report added that clean power procurement has increased by 51 percent since Q1 2023.

Earlier this week, the US Department of Energy announced plans to set up ten corridors across the country to allow for the expansion of the power grid.

Also in the US, Dominion Energy has recently put out proposals for solar, onshore wind, and energy storage development projects in Virginia.