Our annual report on electricity generation capacity in the United States breaks down the current and imminent generation of electricity by type of fuel, location, and ownership type. The report also looks at retirements and planned retirements and cancellations since 2015.
As of February 2023, America has nearly 1.3 million megawatts of generation capacity. The largest fuel source for this capacity is natural gas (43.9%), followed by coal (17%). Wind, nuclear, and hydro together account for more than one-third of capacity. Solar has increased dramatically — with more than 38,000 MW gained since 2020, a 147% increase.
This report also analyzes prospective generation capacity in four categories — under construction, permitted, application pending, and proposed. More than 466,000 MW of new generation capacity is under development in the United States — a 13% increase over 2022. Sixty-one percent of capacity most likely to come online, permitted plants and plants that are under construction, are in solar.
Capacity additions (27,755 MW) outpace the total capacity retired (16,121 MW) in 2022. A majority (78%) of the capacity retired in 2022 was coal-fired facilities, with nearly 13,000 MW retired.