US wind, solar fastest growing sources of electricity in the first half of 2024

Wind and solar generation were the fastest growing sources of US electricity in the first half of 2024, as total renewable output increased nearly 10%, the SUN DAY Campaign said Aug. 26.

Wind and solar combined provided 18.6% of electrical generation in the US during H1 2024, according to a SUN DAY Campaign review of the US Energy Information Administration's latest Electric Power Monthly report. Electrical generation from all renewables, including solar, wind, hydropower, biomass, and geothermal, grew 9.6% year on year and provided 26% of total US generation output. In comparison, renewables accounted for 25% of electrical output in the first six months of 2023.

"Driven by solar and wind, the mix of renewable energy sources is adding, on average, a percentage point or more each year to their share of the nation's electrical generation," SUN DAY Campaign Executive Director Ken Bossong said in an Aug. 26 statement. "Solar and wind now individually out-produce hydropower, while the combination generates more electricity than does either coal or nuclear power."

Renewables as a whole strengthened its position as the second-largest source of electrical generation behind natural gas, whose lead continues to narrow, according to the SUN DAY Campaign.

Wholesale power prices appear to be affected by a surge in renewable generation. US wholesale on-peak day-ahead prices averaged nearly $38/MWh in H1 2024, almost 14% below the same period a year ago, according to pricing data from grid operators and Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights.

"Wind and solar are growing because there is enormous demand for clean energy from states and corporate end-users," said Sam Huntington, director on the Commodity Insights North American power team. "The [Inflation Reduction Act] simply makes the economics of clean energy even more attractive."

Solar soars

"Most of the growth in solar generation is due to more solar installed capacity, which is on track for another record year," Huntington said.

Solar accounted for nearly 7% of total US electrical generation in H1 2024, as utility-scale and small-scale solar combined increased by 26.3% year on year, according to the SUN DAY Campaign. Small-scale solar, such as rooftop solar, accounted for almost 30% of all solar generation and provided 2% of US electricity supply in the first six months of this year.

"In fact, small-scale solar photovoltaic is now generating almost twice as much electricity as utility-scale biomass as well as over five times more electricity than either utility-scale geothermal or the mix of petroleum liquids and coke," the SUN DAY Campaign said in an Aug. 26 statement.

Wind on the rebound

"New wind capacity is being added at a slower rate than past years, and much slower than solar, but it still continues to grow," Huntington said. "Wind generation, on the other hand, is much more affected by weather than solar—wind varies more on year-to-year basis than sunlight—and has been having a good year in 2024 so far, especially compared to a relatively poor generation year in 2023."

Following significant declines in 2023, wind-generated electricity has rebounded, according to the SUN DAY Campaign.

Wind-powered generation output was up 8.2% year on year for H1 2024. In June alone, wind-generated electricity was 39.2% above the level recorded for the same month a year earlier.