Solar is likely to account for more than half of the 64 GW of new utility-scale electricity that developers plan to bring online in the U.S. this year, according to a survey by the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Developers added 12 GW of new utility-scale capacity in the first half (1H) of 2025 and plan to add another 21 GW during the second half. Battery storage, wind, and natural gas power plants are expected to account for virtually all of the remaining capacity additions in 2025.

Installing 64 GW in 2025 could set a yearly record. The previous record of 58 GW capacity added to the grid was set in 2022, with 57 GW of this capacity coming from natural gas.

According to the EIA, technologies such as wind, solar, and battery storage have become more prevalent options for new capacity, despite developers adding natural gas-fired capacity each year since 2022.

The agency had earlier projected that the U.S. would add 63 GW of new utility-scale power capacity in 2025, a nearly 30% increase from 48.6 GW in 2024, marking the largest annual capacity installation since 2002. Its analysis found that solar energy and battery storage will comprise 81% of the projected capacity additions, with solar accounting for over 50% of the growth.

The increase in solar and wind additions can largely be attributed to developments in Texas. Approximately 3.6 GW (27%) of solar capacity additions so far this year occurred in the state, with another 9.7 GW planned to be brought online in 2H 2025. Texas surpassed California last year to achieve the highest utility-scale solar capacity in the U.S.

Battery storage witnessed the second-highest capacity addition share in 1H 2025 with 5.9 GW (26%). Approximately half of these additions were in Arizona and California. Texas is expected to add  GW of battery capacity this year, with the majority of these additions occurring in the second half.

EIA stated that realizing the new solar and battery storage capacity plans could help both technologies add more capacity than in any preceding year.

The U.S. solar industry installed 10.8 GW of capacity in the first quarter of 2025. Despite declining both 43% quarterly and 7% annually, this was the fourth-best quarter on record, according to the U.S. Solar Market Insight Q2 2025 report released by the Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie.