By Aaron Foyer
VP, Orennia
_____________
DATA SPOTLIGHT
The already low-cost supply cost for solar PV paired with incentives has propelled it to be the most installed electricity source by capacity across the US and Canada. More than every other supply source combined. Of the 54 states or provinces installing meaningful capacity this year, we forecast that solar will the be largest source of capacity added in 41 of those states.
The big surprise: Storage. Driven by batteries, utility-scale energy storage is the largest capacity installed technology in three states and the second largest across the US and Canada. It’s no surprise those installations are happening in states that already have significant solar penetration, especially California and Nevada.
Natural gas driven by a few plants
Alberta is the largest installer of natural gas this year, including the Indigenous-owned Cascade being completed and Genesee 1 and 2 being repowered.
Notable projects coming online in 2024
- Scatter Wash, the 1 GWh battery storage complex in Arizona
- Vineyard Wind 1, the 800 MW offshore project in Massachusetts
- Vogtle Unit 4, the 1.1 GW nuclear reactor in Georgia
- Arizona Public Service, the 2 GW solar farm in Arizona
Next year, we forecast storage could make up even more of the new supply mix.
Aaron Foyer is Vice President, Research and Analytics at Orennia. Prior to Orennia, he leveraged his technical background in management consulting and finance roles. He has experience across the energy landscape including clean hydrogen, renewables, biofuels, oil and gas, petrochemicals and carbon capture. 
