The United States commissioned approximately 43 GW of new power generation and energy storage capacity in 2022, according to a report published by BloombergNEF.

Renewable sources accounted for about three-quarters or 32 GW of the entire installed capacity. While still substantial, this represents a slight decline from the 37 GW installed in 2021. This was the first year-on-year (YoY) drop in new installations since 2018 and can be attributed to supply chain challenges and higher costs developers faced.

Source: BloombergNEF

The total U.S. renewable energy capacity, excluding pumped hydro facilities, is 385 GW. Despite snarled supply chains, inflationary pressures, and trade policy worries, the installed wind and solar growth capacity rose 13% YoY.

The report said that total renewable electricity generation in the U.S. increased 12% YoY to 974 TWh or 23% of total power generation.

Solar

Of the total new capacity added, 21 GW came from completed solar projects, lower than the 24 GW installed in 2021.

Production from all types of solar generating projects hit 207 TWh in 2022, making it the third-largest renewable generating source. Rooftop solar now represents 35% of all solar installed capacity.

The U.S. solar market was disrupted in the first half of 2022 after the Commerce Department announced an investigation into solar equipment imports from four Southeast Asian countries. The move froze the market, which has relied heavily on equipment assembled in those countries in recent years.

However, in June, President Biden issued an executive order that effectively delayed any imposition of tariffs for two years.

U.S. solar installers faced trade hurdles in 2022. Up to 1 GW of modules were held up in U.S. ports by officials as importers worked to provide documentation proving that their products contained no materials from Xinjiang, China, due to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.

Wind

According to the report, wind capacity additions in the U.S. in 2022 fell to 11 GW from 13 GW in the previous year. This was attributed to uncertainty surrounding tax credits, supply chain constraints, interconnection delays, and high input costs.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) extended the investment tax credit until at least 2032, which helps developers save 30% on offshore wind capex. The legislation also introduced domestic manufacturing credits for offshore wind foundations and vessels and allocated transmission planning funds. It removed a Trump-era leasing moratorium and enabled lease auctions in territories.

The U.S. is progressing in the offshore wind sector with federal support and increasing state targets. California set preliminary offshore wind targets of 2-5 GW by 2030 and 25 GW by 2045 in August. Louisiana also set an offshore wind goal of 5 GW by 2035, and New Jersey expanded its target to 11 GW by 2040.

Energy storage

BloombergNEF said the U.S. commissioned an estimated 4.8 GW in non-hydropower storage capacity to bring total capacity to 11.4 GW in 2022. Despite supply chain challenges delaying some project pipelines, the U.S. continues to be the largest energy storage market in the world.

In 2022, large-scale lithium-ion batteries became more prevalent on the grid, causing pumped hydro’s share of total energy storage in the U.S. to decline from 78% to 67%.

The U.S. commissioned 45 GWh of lithium-ion battery manufacturing capacity in 2022. The total manufacturing capacity stands at 108 GWh. By the end of 2023, the U.S. is expected to reach 178 GWh of battery manufacturing capacity.

However, rising raw material prices for lithium-ion batteries may lead to a resurgence in pumped hydro storage projects supported by the IRA.

Green hydrogen

The IRA includes a hydrogen production tax credit that offers $3 (adjusted for inflation) for every kilogram of hydrogen produced during the project’s first ten years. This tax credit is intended to incentivize renewable hydrogen production through electrolysis powered by renewable energy sources like solar and wind power.

This public funding and support from other governments are expected to help renewable hydrogen become more widespread.

According to BloombergNEF, renewable hydrogen produced through electrolysis powered by renewables could begin to compete with conventional hydrogen by the middle of the decade. BloombergNEF predicts that the levelized costs of producing hydrogen could drop to $1-2/kg by the decade’s end.

Electric Vehicles

As the price difference between gasoline and electricity increased, electric vehicles (EVs) became more attractive to consumers. However, manufacturers faced challenges as battery costs remained high and pressured EV prices.

However, the IRA has relieved manufacturers by capping the price of EVs that qualify for tax credits. This has enabled manufacturers to lower sticker prices and make EVs more affordable for consumers.

Last year was significant for vehicles with new technologies regarding the number of units sold and the percentage of total cars sold. EVs and fuel cell vehicle sales totaled nearly 982,000 units, representing a 50% increase from the 656,000 units sold in 2021. Despite many challenges, including rising battery component costs and semiconductor chip shortages, EVs accounted for 7.1% of all U.S. sales.

Battery electric vehicles made up 81% of sales, while plug-in hybrid EVs accounted for the remaining 19%. FCVs made up less than 1% of total sales.