Stacked bars
U.S. Generating Capacity Added, by Fuel
Nameplate capacity of power plants that entered service each year, by technology, gigawatts
EIA Form 860M, nameplate capacity of plants of 1 MW or more in the 50 states and DC. Rooftop solar is not included. Complete years only; units count in the year they entered service, including those since retired. Nameplate capacity is maximum output: a gigawatt of solar generates far less in a year than a gigawatt of gas or nuclear.
The new power plants the U.S. switches on each year, stacked by technology. The early 2000s were a gas-building boom; since then the additions have shifted to wind, then solar and batteries, as data centers and electrification push demand up again.
What this chart reads·6 series
Show allHide
- U.S. Solar Generating Capacity Added · Annual (GW)as “Solar”latest 2025-01-01
- U.S. Wind Generating Capacity Added · Annual (GW)as “Wind”latest 2025-01-01
- U.S. Battery Storage Generating Capacity Added · Annual (GW)as “Battery storage”latest 2025-01-01
- U.S. Natural Gas Generating Capacity Added · Annual (GW)as “Natural gas”latest 2025-01-01
- U.S. Nuclear Generating Capacity Added · Annual (GW)as “Nuclear”latest 2025-01-01
- U.S. Other Generating Capacity Added · Annual (GW)as “Other”latest 2025-01-01
Sources·6 sources
Show allHide
U.S. Solar Generating Capacity Added · Annual (GW). Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-860M, Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory (eia.gov/electricity/data/eia860m). Public domain. Refreshed weekly.
U.S. Wind Generating Capacity Added · Annual (GW). Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-860M, Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory (eia.gov/electricity/data/eia860m). Public domain. Refreshed weekly.
U.S. Battery Storage Generating Capacity Added · Annual (GW). Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-860M, Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory (eia.gov/electricity/data/eia860m). Public domain. Refreshed weekly.
U.S. Natural Gas Generating Capacity Added · Annual (GW). Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-860M, Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory (eia.gov/electricity/data/eia860m). Public domain. Refreshed weekly.
U.S. Nuclear Generating Capacity Added · Annual (GW). Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-860M, Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory (eia.gov/electricity/data/eia860m). Public domain. Refreshed weekly.
U.S. Other Generating Capacity Added · Annual (GW). Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-860M, Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory (eia.gov/electricity/data/eia860m). Public domain. Refreshed weekly.
Charts are drawn from Palanor's signal library and recomputed from source data on every view. Transformations (changes, indexing, year-on-year rates) are Palanor's.