The Energy Information Administration projects that 32.5 GW of solar power, 18.2 GW of energy storage, and 7.7 GW of wind generation will be deployed this year, accounting for nearly 93% of total new capacity, which is expected to reach a record 63 GW.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts 32.5 GW ac of utility-scale solar capacity and just over 18 GW of energy storage will be deployed in 2025. The agency also said it expects 7.7 GW of wind generation and 4.4 GW of fossil gas capacity additions.
The agency’s latest Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory report (EIA-860M) estimates that total capacity additions for 2025 will reach approximately 63 GW — the nation’s highest annual deployment volume. In comparison, 48.6 GW of utility-scale capacity was deployed in 2024, marking the highest total since 2002 when approximately 60 GW of new capacity was connected to the grid, according to the EIA.
Solar power is projected to account for 51.5% of all new capacity in 2025. Texas will lead deployments with 11.6 GW of new solar, representing nearly 36% of all additions. California follows with 2.9 GW, while five other states — Indiana, Arizona, Michigan, Florida, and New York — are each expected to deploy more than 1 GW of capacity.
Battery storage capacity is expected to grow significantly, with 18.2 GW of additions projected. While the report does not provide details on storage duration, the two largest battery markets, California and Texas, typically deploy systems with four-hour and two-and-a-half-hour storage capacities, respectively.
Texas is expected to deploy 6.7 GW of new storage, followed by California with 4.3 GW and Arizona with 3.6 GW. These three states would account for over 80% of all new battery storage capacity.
The two largest battery projects planned for 2025 each have 500 MW of output capacity. One is located in Kern County, California, and will be co-located with a 500 MW solar plant, the largest planned for the year. The second is in Wharton, Texas, and will be paired with a 451.6 MW solar facility, the second-largest planned solar plant for 2025.
The EIA’s Short-Term Energy Outlook Data Browser projects that small-scale solar (residential, commercial and industrial) will add 7 GW of capacity, bringing total distributed solar deployment to 60.6 GW by the end of 2025. When combined with the 32.5 GW ac (42 GW dc) of utility-scale capacity, total solar module deployments for the year could approach 50 GW.
The EIA initially projected that the U.S. would deploy over 50 GW of solar capacity in 2024, with estimates holding steady through the agency’s November capacity report. However, the most recent data suggests that the EIA adjusted its 2024 capacity estimate downward by about 7 GW. This revision coincides with a projected surge in deployments in January 2025 (see graph at the top of the article).
Meanwhile, BloombergNEF estimated that U.S. solar deployments in 2024 reached nearly 50 GW.
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