The US Energy Information Agency (EIA) has forecast in its latest near-term energy outlook that the country’s energy generation growth through 2027 will be driven primarily by the expansion of solar capacity.
According to the EIA, U.S. utilities and independent power producers will add 26 GW of solar capacity to the electricity sector in 2025 and 22 GW in 2026.
This follows a record 37 GW of solar capacity added in 2024, almost doubling the previous year’s capacity additions.
Wind capacity is also expected to grow, with an estimated increase of 8 GW in 2025 and 9 GW in 2026.
Renewable energy generation is forecast to increase by 12% to 1,058 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) in 2025 and by a further 8% to 1,138 billion kWh in 2026.
Renewables were the second largest contributor to US energy generation in 2024, accounting for 945 billion kWh, an increase of 9% from 2023.
Nuclear energy is also expected to grow, with a 2% increase to 796 billion kWh in 2025 and a 1% increase to 800 billion kWh in 2026, partly due to new units at the Vogtle plant and the restart of the Palisades central. .
Generation capacity from most other energy sources, including natural gas and coal, will remain relatively stable.
Growth in natural gas-fired capacity has slowed, with only 1 GW additional in 2024, despite natural gas retaining its position as the largest source of U.S. power generation.
Coal production is expected to remain constant at around 640 billion kWh in both 2025 and 2026.
The EIA also predicts that coal withdrawal will accelerate, with 11 GW expected to be removed by 2025 and a further 4 GW by 2026.
In 2024, around 3 GW of coal energy capacity was taken offline – the smallest annual reduction in coal capacity since 2011.
“EIA predicts new solar power plants will boost US electricity generation” was originally created and published by Power technologya brand owned by GlobalData.
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