Solar energy becomes America's largest energy source

    On January 12, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced that in 2021, the country’s utility-scale solar power generation Solar Panels Green Energy capacity is expected to increase by 15.4GW, setting a new record for U.S. grid power generation capacity.

    Solar energy will lead in 2021, accounting for 39% of the new power generation capacity in the United States. It is followed by wind power (31%, 12.2GW), natural gas (16%, 6.6GW), battery storage (11%, 4.3GW), nuclear power (3%, 1.1GW) and other energy sources (0.2GW).

    Data show that the US solar power generation capacity in 2021 is expected to be 15.4GW, which will exceed nearly 12GW in 2020.

    Four states in the United States will have more than half of the new solar photovoltaic power generation capacity: Texas (28%), Nevada (9%), California (9%) and North Carolina (7%).

    It is reported that Texas will dominate the largest solar project in the United States, the Samson Solar Center. The project will be constructed in five phases in the next three years, and each phase will begin operation after completion in 2023.

    Another 12.2GW of installed wind power capacity is expected to come online in 2021. Last year, 21GW of wind energy was put into use.

    Texas and Oklahoma accounted for more than half of the new wind power capacity in 2021.

    Natural gas is a very polluting fossil fuel. According to reports, the planned increase in natural gas production capacity is 660GW, mainly distributed in Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

   EIA predicts that the utility-scale battery storage capacity will increase more than four times; the increase of 4.3GW battery capacity is expected to be online before the end of 2021, because battery energy storage and green energy are inseparable.

    The world's largest solar cell (409GW) is under construction at the Manatee Solar Center in Florida and is scheduled to be put into use by the end of 2021.

    In the annual survey, EIA asked respondents to provide the launch date of the power generation plan in the next five years. This monthly survey is based on the reported operating date and tracks the status of generators that will be put into use in the coming year.