So much solar: Digging into the list of every US power plant that went online this year
Utility-scale solar leads by a mile, followed by batteries.
Utility-scale solar leads by a mile, followed by batteries.
The short version
- It’s been a wild first half of the year in the US power sector, with announcements of gigantic natural gas power plants and some long-awaited renewable energy projects coming online.
- At times of rapid change, forecasting is difficult.
- So I feel a measure of comfort focusing on something concrete like the list of 368 utility-scale plants that began operation from January to June, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration .
What happened
The group is dominated by utility-scale solar. This is a top-heavy list, led by SunZia Wind South and SunZia Wind North in New Mexico , which went online this spring and are the largest wind farms in the country, with a combined generating capacity of 3,650 megawatts.
Why it matters
SunZia has been in the works for about a decade and arrives at a time when US onshore wind power development has dwindled for a host of reasons related to regulations and public opinion.
Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at Ars Technica via the links above and below.