Solar power includes solar farms as well as local distributed generation, mostly on rooftops and increasingly from community solar arrays. In 2025, utility-scale solar power generated 295.7 terawatt-hours (TWh) in the United States. Total solar generation that year, including estimated small-scale photovoltaic generation, was 388.8 TWh.
As of the end of 2024, the United States had 239 gigawatts (GW) of installed photovoltaic (utility and small scale) and concentrated solar power capacity combined. This capacity is exceeded only by China and the European Union. In 2024, 66% of all new electricity generation capacity in the U.S. came from solar.
The United States conducted much early research in photovoltaics and concentrated solar power. It is among the top countries in the world in electricity generated by the sun and several of the world's largest utility-scale installations are located in the desert Southwest. The oldest solar power plant in the world is the 354-megawatt (MW) Solar Energy Generating Systems thermal power plant in California. The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System is a solar thermal power project in the Mojave Desert, southwest of Las Vegas, with a gross capacity of 392 MW. The 280 MW Solana Generating Station is a solar power plant near Gila Bend, Arizona, about southwest of Phoenix, completed in 2013. When commissioned it was the largest parabolic trough plant in the world and the first U.S. solar plant with molten salt thermal energy storage.Mearian, Lucas. U.S. flips switch on massive solar power array that also stores electricity: The array is first large U.S. solar plant with a thermal energy storage system , October 10, 2013. Retrieved October 18, 2013. By 2015, solar employment had overtaken oil and gas as well as coal employment in the United States. As of 2023, more than 280,000 Americans were employed in the solar industry.
Many states have set individual renewable energy goals with solar power being included in various proportions. Hawaii plans 100% renewable-sourced electricity by 2045.PRESS RELEASE: Governor Ige signs bill setting 100 percent renewable energy goal in power sector, Government of Hawaii, June 8, 2015 Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation requiring California's utilities to obtain 100 percent of their electricity from zero-carbon sources by the end of 2045 (including 60% renewable energy sources by 2030).California Sets Goal Of 100 Percent Clean Electric Power By 2045, NPR, September 10, 2018
Solar potential
A 2012 report from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) described technically available renewable energy resources for each state and estimated that urban utility-scale photovoltaics could supply 2,232 TWh/year, rural utility-scale PV 280,613 TWh/year, rooftop PV 818 TWh/year, and CSP 116,146 TWh/year, for a total of almost 400,000 TWh/year, 100 times the consumption of 3,856 TWh in 2011. For comparison, onshore wind potential is estimated at 32,784 TWh/year, and offshore wind at 16,976 TWh/year, while the total available from all renewable resources is estimated at 481,963 TWh/year.
Renewable energy is the least expensive source of power generation , even considering the upfront cost of installation. Therefore, the economics of the renewable energy transition are highly favorable unlike in prior decades. Solar is second only to onshore wind turbines in levelized cost of electricity competitiveness. (Download link labeled "Lazard's LCOE+ (April 2023) (1) PDF—1MB") Replacing historical sources of fossil energy (coal, oil, and natural gas) with solar and wind results in lower operating costs for utility providers and lower energy costs for consumers. This does not include the significant additional health and mortality burden to society from fossil fuel use that makes it even more expensive than it appears.
History
The Carter administration provided major subsidies for research into photovoltaic technology and sought to increase commercialization in the industry.
In the early 1980s, the US accounted for more than 85% of the solar market.
During the Reagan administration, oil prices decreased and the US removed most of its policies that supported its solar industry. Government subsidies were higher in Germany and Japan, which prompted the industrial supply chain to begin moving from the US to those countries.
Solar energy deployment increased at a record pace in the United States and throughout the world in 2008, according to industry reports. The Solar Energy Industries Association's "2008 U.S. Solar Industry Year in Review" found that U.S. solar energy capacity increased by 17% in 2007, reaching the total equivalent of 8,775 megawatts (MW). The SEIA report tallies all types of solar energy, and in 2007 the United States installed 342 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) electric power, 139 thermal megawatts (MWth) of solar water heating, 762 MWth of pool heating, and 21 MWth of solar space heating and cooling.
Another report in 2008 by research and publishing firm Clean Edge and the nonprofit Co-op America found that solar power's contribution could grow to 10% of the nation's power needs by 2025, with nearly 2% of the nation's electricity coming from concentrating solar power systems, while solar photovoltaic systems would provide more than 8% of the nation's electricity. Those figures correlate to nearly 50,000 megawatts of solar photovoltaic systems and more than 6,600 megawatts of concentrating solar power.Study: Solar Power Could Provide 10% of U.S. Electricity by 2025 June 25, 2008. Retrieved June 25, 2009
The report noted that the cost per kilowatt-hour of solar photovoltaic systems had been dropping, while electricity generated from fossil fuels was becoming more expensive. As a result, the report projects that solar power was expected to reach cost parity with conventional power sources in many U.S. markets by 2015. To reach the 10% goal, solar photovoltaic companies would need to make solar power a "plug-and-play technology", or simplify the deployment of solar systems. The report also underlines the importance of future "smart grid" technologies.
Solar Energy Industries Association and GTM Research found that the amount of new solar electric capacity increased in 2012 by 76 percent from 2011, raising the United States’ market share of the world's installations above 10 percent, up from roughly 5 to 7 percent in the past seven years. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, as of September 2014 utility-scale solar had sent 12,303 gigawatt-hours of electricity to the U.S. grid. This was an increase of over 100% versus the same period in 2013 (6,048 GWh). The number of homes with solar systems installed had been increasing rapidly, from 30,000 in 2006 to 1.3 million in 2016. A 2014 study by the U.S. Department of Energy predicted the figure could reach 3.8 million homes by 2020.
Solar photovoltaic power
Solar PV installed capacity + Solar PV capacity in the United States by year Year Total (MWp) YOY growth Installed capacity (MWp) 2010 2,094 849 2011 4,039 1,941 2012 7,416 3,374 2013 12,220 4,766 2014 18,464 6,245 2015 25,944 7,509 2016 41,176 15,104 2017 52,284 11,080 2018 63,015 10,733 2019 76,552 13,512 2020 96,458 19,849 2021 120,503 23,565 2022 140,005 19,5022023179,00028%38,9952024229,00028%50,0002025272,20019%43,200
U.S. grid-connected photovoltaic capacity by state (MWP)NoJurisdiction201520142013201220112010200920082007 – United States 25,459 18,173 12,090.2 7,373.8 4,010.7 2,165.7 1,261.6 791.7 474.8 1 California 13,243 9,977 5,183.4 2,559.3 1,563.6 1,021.7 768.0 528.3 328.8 2 Arizona 2,303 2,069 1,563.1 1,106.4 397.6 109.8 46.2 25.3 18.9 3 North Carolina 2,087 1,245 469.0 207.9 85.5 40.0 12.5 4.7 0.7 4 New Jersey 1,632 1,574 1,184.6 955.7 565.9 259.9 127.5 70.2 43.6 5 Nevada 1,240 823 424.0 349.7 124.1 104.7 36.4 34.2 18.8 6 Massachusetts 1,020 734 445.0 207.3 74.6 38.2 17.7 7.5 4.6 7 New York 638 394 240.5 179.4 123.8 55.5 33.9 21.9 15.4 8 Hawaii 564 447 358.2 199.5 85.2 44.7 26.2 13.5 4.5 9 Colorado 544 396 360.4 299.6 196.7 121.1 59.1 35.7 14.6 10 Texas 534 330 215.9 140.3 85.6 34.5 8.6 4.4 3.2 11 Georgia 370 161 109.9 21.4 6.9 1.8 0.2 <0.1 <0.1 12 New Mexico 365 325 256.6 203.4 165.5 43.3 2.4 1.0 0.5 13 Maryland 349 205 175.4 116.8 37.1 12.8 5.6 3.1 0.7 14 Pennsylvania 258 245 180.2 164.3 133.1 54.8 7.3 3.9 0.9 15 Utah 255 24 16.0 10.0 4.4 2.1 0.6 0.2 0.2 16 Connecticut 219 128 77.1 39.6 31.1 24.6 19.7 8.8 2.8 17 Florida 200 159 137.3 116.9 95.0 73.5 38.7 3.0 2.0 18 Indiana 136 112 49.4 4.4 3.5 0.5 0.3 <0.1 <0.1 19 Missouri 131 111 48.9 18.5 2.0 0.7 0.2 <0.1 <0.1 20 Tennessee 129 118 64.8 45.0 22.0 5.7 0.9 0.4 0.4 21 Oregon 114 84 62.8 56.4 35.8 23.9 14.0 7.7 2.8 22 Ohio 113 102 98.4 79.9 31.6 20.7 2.0 1.4 1.0 23 Vermont 107 64 41.5 28.0 11.7 3.9 1.7 1.1 0.7 24 Louisiana 92 60 46.6 18.2 13.4 2.6 0.2 <0.1 <0.1 25 Delaware 70 61 62.8 46.1 26.5 5.6 3.2 1.8 1.2 26 Illinois 65 54 43.4 42.9 16.2 15.5 4.5 2.8 2.2 27 Washington 62 39 27.4 19.5 12.3 8.0 5.2 3.7 1.9 28 Minnesota 33 20 15.1 11.3 4.8 3.6 1.9 1.0 0.5 29 Iowa 27 21 4.6 1.2 0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 30 Wisconsin 25 20 22.5 21.1 12.9 8.7 5.3 3.1 1.4 31 New Hampshire 22 7.0 4.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 0.7 0.1 0.1 32 Virginia 21 11 12.6 10.5 4.5 2.8 0.8 0.2 0.2 33 Arkansas 20.1 3.8 1.8 1.5 1.1 1.0 0.2 <0.1 <0.1 34 Maine 19.4 12.7 5.3 2.8 1.1 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 35 Michigan 19 14 12 10 8.8 2.6 0.7 0.4 0.4 36 Rhode Island 17.1 12.6 7.6 1.9 1.2 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 37 Washington, D.C.D.C. 17 10 16.5 13.9 11.6 4.5 1.0 0.7 0.5 38 South Carolina 15 12 8.0 4.6 4.1 0.9 0.1 <0.1 <0.1 39 Kentucky 9.5 8.4 7.9 4.8 3.3 0.2 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 40 Oklahoma 5.2 1.5 0.7 0.3 0.2 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 41 Kansas 4.7 2.3 1.1 0.5 0.2 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 42 Idaho 4.6 2.6 1.8 1.0 0.4 0.4 0.2 <0.1 <0.1 43 Montana 4.5 4.0 3.0 2.2 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.5 44 West Virginia 3.4 2.6 2.2 1.7 0.6 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 45 Alabama 2.0 1.9 1.9 1.1 0.5 0.4 0.2 <0.1 <0.1 46 Wyoming 1.5 1.2 1.0 0.6 0.2 0.2 0.1 <0.1 <0.1 47 Mississippi 1.1 1.0 1.0 0.7 0.6 0.3 0.1 <0.1 <0.1 48 Nebraska 1.1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.3 0.2 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 49 Alaska 0.72 0.39 0.2 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 50 South Dakota 0.24 0.22 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 51 North Dakota 0.22 0.22 0.2 0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1
In the United States, 14,626 MW of PV was installed in 2016, a 95% increase over 2015 (7,493 MW). During 2016, 22 states added at least 100 MW of capacity. Just 4,751 MW of PV installations were completed in 2013. The U.S. had approximately 440 MW of off-grid photovoltaics as of the end of 2010. Through the end of 2005, a majority of photovoltaics in the United States was off-grid.
In 2023 the total capacity deployed was 35.3 GW, which is 52% greater than the new capacity of just under 24 GW in 2022.
Solar PV generation Solar photovoltaic generation in the United States Year Utility-scale Est. distributed generation (GWh) Est. total generation (GWh) Summer capacity (GW) Generation (GWh) Cap. factor Capacity YOY growth GenerationYOY growth Portion of renewable electricity Portion of total electricity 2004 6 N/A N/A 2005 16 N/A N/A 2006 15 N/A N/A 2007 36.7 16 N/A N/A 2008 70.8 76 N/A N/A 2009 145.5 157 N/A N/A 2010 393.4 423 20.2% N/A N/A 2011 1,052.0 1,012 19.0% N/A N/A 2012 2,694.1 3,451 20.4% N/A N/A 2013 5,336.1 8,121 24.5% N/A N/A 2014 8,656.6 15,250 25.6% 11,233 26,482 2015 11,905.4 21,666 25.5% 14,139 35,805 2016 20,192.9 32,670 25.0% 18,812 51,483 2017 25,209.0 50,018 25.6% 23,990 74,008 2018 30,120.5 60,234 25.1% 29,539 89,773 2019 35,710.2 68,719 24.3% 34,957 103,676 2020 46,306.2 86,066 24.2% 41,522 127,588 2021 59,534.5 111,755 24.6% 49,025 160,779
The amount of electricity a unit is capable of producing over an extended period of time is determined by multiplying the capacity by the capacity factor. The capacity factor for solar photovoltaic units is largely a function of climate and latitude and so varies significantly from state to state.