• 11% growth in the now nearly 140 gigawatt (GW) development pipeline reflects promise of new federal policies, while historically low Q4 2022 and Q1 2023 installations demonstrate lingering headwinds 
• Total clean power installations declined in 2022 for the first time in five years 
• Texas added over 9 GW of clean energy in 2022, the most in the U.S., while Iowa and South Dakota each generated over 50% of their electricity from clean power 
• Energy storage had a record year with 4 GW and 12 GWh installed, an 80% capacity increase 

NEW ORLEANS, May 22, 2023 – Today, the American Clean Power Association (ACP) released its comprehensive Clean Power Annual Market Report for 2022 and its Clean Power Quarterly Market Report for Q1 2023, finding that combined U.S. wind, utility solar, and energy storage capacity had the third-largest year on record in 2022 with over 25 gigawatts (GW) of new clean power installed. However, a decline in deployment volume from the previous two years, combined with a historically low Q1 2023, underscore the continued headwinds facing the industry. 

After historic clean energy incentives were signed into law in August 2022, clean power has seen record levels of announced activity, with the development pipeline swelling to nearly 140 GW by the end of Q1 2023 – 11% above where it was at the same point last year. However, it is too early to see this activity translate into installations, which have slowed for the first time since 2017. 

“The clean energy revolution is underway,” said ACP CEO Jason Grumet. “We have the technology, financial capital and workforce to power our economy with clean, affordable and secure energy. There is broad bipartisan support for American energy innovation. But the clean energy transition will not succeed unless Congress and Governors enable the siting and construction of new energy facilities and support the build out of transmission that is required to bring clean power to the people.” 

By the end of 2022, nearly 228 GW of clean energy was online, with 4 GW more added in Q1 2023. These resources provide 15% of the nation’s electricity and deliver enough electricity to power the equivalent of over 62 million households. Clean power dominated new power capacity additions in 2022, comprising nearly 80% of all new grid additions.  

Texas added twice as much clean energy capacity as any other state in 2022 (over 9 GW), maintaining its status as the state with the most operating clean power capacity (nearly 55 GW). Iowa and South Dakota each generated over half of their electricity from clean power last year. 

Energy storage witnessed a record year in 2022 with 4 GW and 12 GWh commissioned, representing an 80% increase in total operating storage capacity. Hybrid project installations in 2022 were 60% higher than in 2021, setting a new record in the hybrid space at nearly 6 GW of installations. 

In the nearly 140 GW development pipeline, solar accounts for 59% of all clean power capacity. Land-based wind accounts for 15% of the pipeline, battery storage represents 14%, and offshore wind claims the remaining 13%.

Headwinds & Delays 

However, the year’s progress was not enough to continue the annual growth trajectory of U.S. clean power, with the industry seeing a decline in combined installation volume for the first time in five years and the lowest Q1 (2023) in three years.  

Contributing to the slowdown in installations were delays in 2022 that affected over 50 GW of projects in late-stage development, with a total of 63.3 GW – equivalent to powering nearly 7 million homes – experiencing delays by the end of Q1 2023. On average, these projects face delays of six months or longer, depriving ratepayers of clean, affordable electricity.  

Project delays are primarily due to unclear permitting timelines, trade policy uncertainty, transmission shortages, difficulties sourcing solar panels, unresolved IRA implementation, and interconnection queue challenges (with over 1,741 GW waiting in queues at the end of 2022).   

These challenges must be addressed to unlock the full potential of the nearly 140 GW of clean energy in the development pipeline. 

Key Highlights – Overall 

• Third-Largest Year: 25.5 GW of new clean power was commissioned in 2022, making it the third-largest year on record and bringing the total amount of American clean power online by year’s end to nearly 228 GW.
• Leading Source of New Power: Clean power represented 79% of all new capacity added in 2022. 
• Powering More of America: By the end of Q1 2023, wind and solar provided 232 GW of clean energy, over 15% of the country’s electricity and equivalent to powering over 62 million homes. 
• Net-Zero Progress: Maintaining last year’s project installation volume would provide only 30% of what is needed to reach a net-zero grid by 2035. 
• Significant Delays: By the end of 2022, 53 GW of projects were experiencing delays due to ongoing regulatory, supply chain and interconnection challenges, contributing to a 15% decline in deployment volume from 2021. 63.3 GW of clean power was delayed by end of Q1 2023.
• Development Pipeline: 139 GW of clean energy projects were under development at the end of Q1 2023. 
• Storage Soars: In 2022, energy storage witnessed a record year with 4 GW and 12 GWh commissioned, representing an 80% increase in total operating storage capacity. 
• Growing Workforce & Investment: The clean power industry employs 443,000 workers and invested $35 billion in capital investment in 2022. 
• United States of Clean Energy: Clean power is red, white, and blue with projects or manufacturing facilities in 93% of Congressional districts. Projects can be found in all 50 states. 
• Booming Manufacturing: There are 550 U.S. manufacturing facilities dedicated to producing components and parts for wind, solar, and storage projects in the clean power industry – and since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), 47 new clean energy manufacturing facilities or expansions have been announced, bringing more than 18,000 new American jobs. 

Key Highlights – Q1 2023 

• Lowest Q1 Since 2020: Q1 2023 saw a 36% drop in clean power installations (4,079 MW) compared to Q1 2022. 
  • 95 project phases were commissioned across 27 states, with Florida and Texas leading. 
• Sector Snapshot: Solar led the quarter (2,200 MW), followed by wind (1,418 MW) and battery storage (461 MW). 
• Delays: Regulatory challenges led to significant project delays, especially in the solar sector, with 7.3 GW of clean power capacity expected online in Q1 delayed, for a total of 63.5 GW of clean power delayed by end of Q1. 
  • 90% of Q1 delayed capacity expected to come online later in 2023. 
• Pipeline: The development pipeline grew 11% from Q1 2022 to 139 GW, dominated by solar at 59%. 
• PPAs: New Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) announcements fell by 24% to 3.8 GW, with corporate buyers leading at 63%. 

The Clean Power Market Reports for 2022 and Q1 2023 are comprehensive overviews of the U.S. wind, utility solar, and energy storage markets, containing in-depth analysis of key industry statistics, trends, and rankings. The 180-page annual report and the Q1 2023 report are available exclusively to ACP members.

A public website with interactive data from the 2022 annual report can be viewed here. 

“No American industry enjoys being used as a pawn in partisan political negotiations. The American Clean Power Association is nevertheless confident that Congress and the Administration will not interrupt the burst of private sector investment in American clean energy production and manufacturing. In the last nine months, forty-six new clean energy manufacturing and production facilities have been announced, creating high wage jobs in communities across the country.

“There is real work to do to support this American energy revolution. Congress must act to enable more efficient project permitting, facilitate the construction of new energy transmission and distribution and help American employers support and train hundreds of thousands of new workers. ACP is eager to work with Republicans and Democrats who share our commitment to secure, affordable and clean domestic energy.”

“In the last nine months, the clean energy industry has announced 46 major manufacturing facilities and scores of clean energy projects in communities across the country. If enacted, today’s actions would jeopardize these investments and thousands of good paying American jobs. The American Clean Power Association is interested in working with Republicans and Democrats on permitting reform, energy security, and the real challenges facing the energy sector and our economy. Congress should not waste time or energy on political messaging bills that do not advance the national interest.”

• Maryland can cost-effectively build more than 3,500 megawatts (MW) of energy storage by 2033  

• Building 3,000+ MW of energy storage could save Maryland ratepayers as much as $100 million annually by 2033  
• A Maryland state energy mix with more than 3,000+ MW of energy storage could reduce emissions by 93% over the next ten years, relative to today’s emissions      

The U.S. energy storage market continues to expand rapidly, with 2022 setting an installation record of 4.8 gigawatts (GW) of storage capacity. Based on industry estimates, the U.S. storage market is expected to install almost 75 GW between 2023 and 2027. States such as Maryland are increasingly including energy storage as part of their plans to reduce carbon emissions and build a reliable, clean grid.    

“Maryland’s commitment to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 has supercharged the need to clean up our grid,” said Moira Cyphers, ACP Director for Eastern State Affairs. “Maryland state leaders are looking toward the future and thinking about building clean energy capacity as Maryland brings on new sources of generation like wind and solar. That’s why we support House Bill 910 and its Senate companion, Senate Bill 697, which aims to establish an energy storage target goal and set the state on a path to reach that goal by 2033. Storage is critical to meeting our emissions and energy goals – and now we’ve got the data to show it’s a cost-effective investment, too.”    

Today’s announcement from ACP includes the report’s preliminary findings, while the full report will be released in the coming weeks.   

LONDON / HOUSTON / SINGAPORE / WASHINGTON, March 15, 2023 – Across all segments of the industry, the U.S. energy storage market installed 4.8 gigawatts (GW) of capacity in 2022, nearly equal to the combined 2020 and 2021 installed capacity of 5 GW, becoming a record year for battery storage.

“Energy storage had its best year yet in 2022. Cumulative operating utility-scale storage capacity increased by 80%. While we saw a slight dip in installations toward the end of the year, the trend is clear: Energy storage is on a rapid growth curve and is already a key component of building a resilient grid that supports abundant clean energy,” said John Hensley, American Clean Power Association (ACP) Vice President of Research & Analytics.

According to ACP and Wood Mackenzie’s latest U.S. Energy Storage Monitor report released today, the market added 1,067 megawatts (MW) across all segments in the fourth quarter of 2022, making the quarter only the fifth highest for installations – 33% lower than Q4 of 2021, which is the highest on record.

Source: Wood Mackenzie U.S. Energy Storage Monitor 2022

The new report’s findings show that the U.S. grid-scale (also referred to as utility-scale) segment installed a total of 848 MW in Q4 2022, which was a decline from more than 1 GW of installations in both Q2 and Q3 of this year. Decreased installed capacity was largely caused by supply chain and interconnection constraints. These headwinds continued to affect the project pipeline, with over 3 GW of projects scheduled to come online in Q4 delayed or cancelled.

However, the residential storage segment increased by 11% over Q3 and broke another record with 171 MW installed, ousting Q3 2022 by 17 MW. Capacity installations increased for this segment every quarter in 2022, confirming sustained demand for residential back-up power and resiliency.

Deployment in the community, commercial, and industrial (CCI) storage segment recovered from a significant drop in Q3 2022 with 48 MW installed in Q4, an increase of 78%. States traditionally strong in the CCI segment, such as New York, bounced back to higher deployment levels which boosted Q4 numbers.

“Despite a slow fourth quarter, total 2022 installations were still 44% over 2021. Grid-scale installations increased by 7% year-over-year, CCI by 3%, and residential experienced the strongest growth with installations up 36%.  Looking ahead, we expect the U.S. storage market to install almost 75 GW between 2023 and 2027. Grid-scale installations account for approximately 60 GW, 81% of the new capacity added,” said Vanessa Witte, senior analyst with Wood Mackenzie’s energy storage team.

Forecasted capacity for the grid-scale and CCI segments will more than double in 2023, partly due to robust storage demand and to projects that were delayed from 2022 coming online. Wood Mackenzie also expects residential capacity to increase by approximately 88% in 2023 – with four times more residential storage to be installed in 2027 compared to 2022 volumes.

“California continues to hold the largest market share of residential installations through 2027 at 47%, which dwarfs any other state by far. Puerto Rico remains the second largest through 2027 with an 11% share,” Witte said.

Project volume in the interconnection queue from 2023 to 2028 declined by approximately 10% from the last quarter; a result of independent system operators (ISOs) filtering through applications and developers withdrawing applications now that the rush to secure queue positions has somewhat subsided.

According to the report, 7 GW of projects with an original 2022 Commercial Operation Date (COD) have been pushed into later years or cancelled outright, likely due to increased costs or developers’ inability to procure equipment within the timeframe needed.

Price relief for batteries is on the horizon, as commodity prices have begun to decline after prices for battery precursors, such as lithium carbonate, peaked in Q4. System cost declines are anticipated in 2023 though other issues remain, such as supply delays and an increasingly tight labor market.

Download the new report from ACP’s website.

“Congratulations to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and the 118th Congress. We anticipate that this new Congress will provide ample opportunity for bipartisan cooperation on advancing commonsense clean energy policies that lower electricity bills, create millions of jobs, and move America into a future of energy independence. We look forward to working with both the House and Senate to deliver the clean, abundant, and affordable power Americans want.”

WASHINGTON DC, December 15 2022 – The U.S. energy storage market grid-scale segment installed a record 4,733 megawatt-hours (MWh) in the third quarter of 2022, surpassing the previous quarterly high of 4,598 MWh in Q1 of 2021, according to a new report released today. On a single charge, this amount of battery storage could power over 150,000 U.S. homes for a day.

According to the American Clean Power Association (ACP) and Wood Mackenzie’s latest U.S. Energy Storage Monitor report released today, grid-scale storage deployments relied heavily on California and Texas, which accounted for 96% of total installed capacity this quarter.

“Demand in the grid-scale and residential storage segments continues to increase, despite rising costs and lingering supply chain challenges,” said Vanessa Witte, senior analyst with Wood Mackenzie’s energy storage team. “Installed capacity is expected to more than double next year, driven by new grid-scale project announcements and increased residential and non-residential volumes in CA due to the introduction of a community solar program and NEM 3.0.”

According to the report, the total forecast volume between 2022-2026 across all segments increased by 109% quarter-over-quarter, and in this timeframe the U.S. storage market will install almost 65 gigawatts (GW) total, with grid-scale installations accounting for 84% of that capacity.

“Demand for energy storage is at an all-time high, driven by sustained higher energy prices, state decarbonization mandates, and Inflation Reduction Act incentives,” said Jason Burwen, Vice President of Energy Storage at the American Clean Power Association. “California’s reliance on energy storage to meet record peak demand this September shows why it’s absolutely critical that policymakers and grid operators remove barriers to supply to ensure reliability. The rapid increase in grid-scale storage capacity requesting to connect to the grid demonstrates that the pace of U.S. industry growth is increasingly dependent on the availability of transmission and timely grid access.”

Residential storage had another record quarter, with 400 MWh installed, surpassing the previous quarterly record of 375 MWh in Q2 2022. California, Puerto Rico, Texas, and Hawaii were leaders in Q3 for residential instalments. Wood Mackenzie projects that this segment will climb to 2.2 GW in 2026.

Community, commercial, and industrial storage deployments underwhelm for the second quarter in a row, with only 56.6 MWh installed in Q3. However, all segments are anticipated to steadily grow over the long-term forecast, bolstered by the strong demand from residential and grid-scale.

Wood Mackenzie’s Witte added that elevated prices and supply chain challenges largely due to a supply deficit combined with heavy demand have pushed several projects past 2022 and into later years of the forecast. However, the pipeline remains strong and active storage requests in the interconnection queue between 2022 and 2028 increased 120% quarter-over-quarter.

Said Witte: “Some developers have considered delaying projects into 2023 to receive tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act, but this only applies to a very niche segment of projects. In general, supply chain challenges and interconnection queue backlogs will push capacity to later in the forecast, with 2024-2026 seeing increases of 9-13% per year due to this.”

Source: Wood Mackenzie 

Source: Wood Mackenzie 

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“The IRA represents a monumental investment in the nation’s energy transition and domestic workforce. Clear and workable guidance is the key to unlocking that investment. While ACP and our members are supportive of the IRA’s labor requirements, the guidance issued today provides little clarity on the implementation of these provisions.  Further clarity is essential to provide the market certainty necessary to drive timely clean energy deployment and to support job creation at levels that will ensure the IRA lives up to its promise.”

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Background: On November 4, 2022 ACP issued a statement in reference to comment letters filed in six areas to ensure the clean energy incentives in the IRA make clean energy investments a reality. The previous statement can be viewed here.

WASHINGTON, D.C., November 4, 2022 – The American Clean Power Association (ACP) released the following statement today from JC Sandberg, Interim CEO and Chief Advocacy Officer, after submitting comments in response to the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) request for comments on key areas – Energy Communities, Prevailing Wages and Apprenticeships, Domestic Content, Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credit, Transferability/Direct Pay, and Generation Incentives Related to 45, 45Y, 45V, 48, and 48E – related to implementation of the clean energy tax provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA).

“The IRA represents a monumental investment in the nation’s energy transition—an investment that promises to deliver enough clean energy to power every home in America by 2030, while supporting jobs, domestic manufacturing, economic growth, and U.S. global competitiveness. Clear, workable, and flexible Treasury guidance is the key to incentivizing taxpayers and the clean energy industry to develop projects in a timely way – and at levels that will ensure the IRA lives up to its promise. ACP appreciates the broad public engagement that Treasury is engaging in with taxpayers and stakeholders to inform this guidance.

“In response to Treasury’s request for comments on key provisions, we are offering robust recommendations on how to accelerate clean energy deployment, while invigorating the U.S. clean energy workforce and supply chain. To ensure the incentives in the IRA make these clean energy investments a reality, ACP’s comments focus on areas where guidance from Treasury will be essential to provide sufficient market certainty for developers.

“We look forward to continued engagement with Treasury and stakeholders on this once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a more sustainable and prosperous nation.”