A record 49 GW of clean energy generation came online in the U.S. in 2024, nearly 33% more than in 2023, the American Clean Power Association reported March 5.

Clean energy accounted for 93% of the new capacity added nationwide in 2024, ACP said in its new “Snapshot of Clean Power in 2024,” a condensed preview of the annual market report the trade organization will publish for members next month.

ACP paints a picture of momentum and acceleration of the buildout of U.S. clean energy, which for the purposes of the report is defined as wind, solar and storage.

It took more than 20 years for the U.S. to reach 100 GW of utility-scale clean power capacity, five years to reach 200 GW, then just three years to reach 313 GW.

ACP also repeated the all-of-the-above energy message it has been offering since November, when it became clear that a strong fossil fuel supporter would replace a staunch supporter of renewable energy as president of the United States.

“The only way to meet skyrocketing energy demand is to embrace all American energy resources,” ACP CEO Jason Grumet said in the announcement of the Snapshot. “The clean energy sector’s dominant performance in 2024 demonstrates the unique role clean power is playing in bringing electricity online now to support increased manufacturing and data centers.”

Breaking the 2024 total down into its components, some numbers are more impressive than others. The 33 GW of utility-scale solar and 11 GW of storage installed both far surpassed the previous records, but the 4 GW of land-based wind that came online in 2024 was the smallest amount in a decade.

And while the single offshore wind farm that came online in 2024 did in fact set a record, it was a minor distinction: It offers only 132 MW, and it was competing against a 12-MW pilot project and a 30-MW near-shore facility that constituted the entirety of the U.S. offshore wind portfolio at the start of the year.

Other facts, figures and highlights from the 2024 Snapshot include:

• • The fourth quarter was the strongest quarter ever for solar installations (nearly 14 GW) and the second largest for clean energy in total (18.8 GW).
  • Onshore wind remains the largest U.S. renewable sector, but solar is closing in fast: 33.3 GW of utility-scale solar was installed, bringing the total to 129.7 GW, while 3.9 GW of new capacity brought the land-based wind total to 154.6 GW.
  • New natural gas generation totaled just 2.4 GW.
  • Nearly 9 GW of generation was retired, with coal- (50%) and gas-fired facilities (43%) accounting for most of the total.
  • Forty states now have more than 1 GW of installed clean power capacity, up from 37 in 2023; a dozen states saw their clean power portfolios increase by 1 GW or more.
  • The pipeline of projects in advanced development or under construction reached 175.2 GW by the end of the year; solar accounted for about half at 89.4 GW, but that was 5% less than a year earlier; battery storage accounted for a quarter of the pipeline at 45.1 GW, which was 49% more than a year earlier.
  • Forty-six clean-energy primary component manufacturing projects came online nationwide, providing $22 billion in direct investment; 85% of those projects were in states that voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election; and 79 new projects were announced to create or expand production.
  • Clean power generation is operational in 86% of congressional districts; 79% of the total capacity is within Republican-held congressional districts; and 77% of new capacity added in 2024 was within Republican districts.