Intermittent electricity sources driving the bulk of new U.S. capacity

By EPN Staff

The United States may top a 23-year record for adding electric generation capacity this year. More than half of that new generation will likely be intermittent solar power, with battery storage accounting for another quarter of the total, according to figures analyzed by the Energy Information Administration.

If this all comes to fruition, solar and battery storage would both add more U.S. capacity than in any previous year, the EIA said.

About half of the new battery storage capacity added in the first half of 2025 was in Arizona or California, while Texas plans to bring on a substantial amount of battery capacity later this year.

So far this year developers have added 12 gigawatts of new solar capacity across the country, with another 21 GW on tap, the EIA said. Texas continues to lead the way in solar additions,with 3.2 GW already added and another 9.3 GW planned by the end of the year.

Some projects may be rushed to beat moved-up deadlines for federal tax credits, which Congress reined in earlier this year.

If all these gigawatts are installed, intermittent “solar would account for more than half of the 64 GW that developers plan to bring online this year,” the EIA said. The EIA reports 8.7 GW of baseload generating capacity - from coal- and natural gas-fired plants - are slated for retirement this year. 

Why it matters

Adding 64 GW of total capacity would beat a record set in 2002, when developers added 58 GW, 57 GW of which came from natural gas, according to EIA data.

Natural gas is still crucial in U.S. energy markets, producing more than 40% of the country’s electricity though coming in third this year in expected new generation.

Natural gas, along with coal, will likely get a boost going forward as more of President Donald Trump’s fossil-fuel-friendly policies take effect.

Overall electricity demand is expected to rise across the board as artificial intelligence is layered throughout the worldwide economy, requiring a massive increase in data centers, which are high energy users.

The bigger picture

The Republican-controlled Congress sliced federal subsidies for intermittent solar and wind energy, instead favoring “always-on” generation sources like natural gas, coal and nuclear.

The Trump administration has pushed to cancel wind projects outright and tighten federal rules for both the wind and solar industries.

One left-leaning environmental group calculated that billions of dollars in clean energy projects have been cancelled this year in anticipation of these policy shifts.

Some in the solar industry remain bullish, though, saying installations will continue to grow without government subsidies as prices, both for panels and for batteries that store energy for use after dark, continue to fall.

Additional details

In August the president said on his social media platform, Truth Social, that the federal government won’t approve “wind or farmer destroying solar,” which, CNBC reported, leaves renewable companies concerned they won’t be able to get “permits that were once normal course of business.”

Also in August, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it won’t allow any taxpayer dollars for solar panels on “productive farmland.” The announcement, which was made alongside Tennessee Republican officials, noted that over the last 30 years, Tennessee lost 1.2 million acres of farmland. 

Meanwhile, the USDA said there has been an approximately 50% increase in solar panels on farmland across the country in the last 13 years.