According to the American Clean Power Association’s (ACP) Clean Power Quarterly 2021 Q4 Market Report, the U.S. surpassed 200 GW of utility-scale clean power capacity in 2021 despite the installations falling 3% compared to 2020.[1] The report, released on February 15, 2022, stated that 27.7 GW was installed in 2021, representing $39 billion in investments across the sector. More than 11.4 GW of projects that were expected to come online in 2021 were pushed back until 2022 or 2023. For solar, this was due to trade policies and lack of regulatory certainty, while the solar sector faced policy uncertainty, including the expiration of tax credits for wind projects. The ACP warned that the pace of installations fell short of what is needed to achieve a net zero emissions goal of 2035. Although 2021 was the second largest year on record for clean energy, it is only 45% of what is needed each year to achieve the 2035 goal.

Overall, wind grew by 12,747 MW, solar grew by 12,364 MW, and battery storage grew by 2,599 MW. Texas deployed the most clean energy, with 7,352 MW of new capacity, while the next nearest was California, with 2,697 MW. The ACP report found that Texas accounts for 17% of clean power under construction or in advanced development, and California with 11%. Over 1,000 clean energy projects are under development, totaling 120,171 MW of new capacity. Power purchase agreements included 28 GW last year.

[1] https://cleanpower.org/news/u-s-surpasses-200-gigawatts-of-total-clean-power-capacity-but-the-pace-of-deployment-has-slowed-according-to-acp-4q-report/