WeatherPower Year in Review: 2022
Summary
The report finds that U.S. solar and wind capacity grew to over 238 GW in 2022, generating 683,130 GWh of electricity. Texas and California emerged as the primary drivers of this growth, with Texas leading in wind capacity and generation, and California leading in solar generation. While historical growth rates might leave the U.S. short of 2030 benchmarks set by the Net-Zero America project, the report suggests that the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 provides the necessary incentives to accelerate the transition toward the 2050 net-zero goal.
Key insights
- Combined solar and wind electricity capacity in the U.S. increased to more than 238 gigawatts (GW) in 2022, representing an increase of nearly 13 GW or 6% from 2021. Solar installations accounted for approximately 100 GW and wind installations for nearly 139 GW.
- The U.S. generated 683,130 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity from combined solar and wind sources in 2022, a 16% increase over the 588,471 GWh produced in 2021. Wind power contributed 499,846 GWh and solar power contributed 183,284 GWh. Based on an average retail price of 12 cents per kilowatt-hour, this generation equates to $82 billion in revenue.
Cite the original document
- APA
- Climate Central (2023). WeatherPower Year in Review: 2022. https://assets.ctfassets.net/cxgxgstp8r5d/6BuGVQSGXiYCzlY1JKPnuv/ae4634cb56d94c39dc929afff537215a/WeatherPowerYearinReview2022_EN_.pdf
- Chicago
- Climate Central. WeatherPower Year in Review: 2022. 2023. https://assets.ctfassets.net/cxgxgstp8r5d/6BuGVQSGXiYCzlY1JKPnuv/ae4634cb56d94c39dc929afff537215a/WeatherPowerYearinReview2022_EN_.pdf.
- Wikipedia
- {{cite report |author=Climate Central |title=WeatherPower Year in Review: 2022 |date=February 2023 |url=https://assets.ctfassets.net/cxgxgstp8r5d/6BuGVQSGXiYCzlY1JKPnuv/ae4634cb56d94c39dc929afff537215a/WeatherPowerYearinReview2022_EN_.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}
- BibTeX
- @techreport{climatecentral2023weatherpower, author = {{Climate Central}}, title = {{WeatherPower Year in Review: 2022}}, institution = {Climate Central}, year = {2023}, month = feb, url = {https://assets.ctfassets.net/cxgxgstp8r5d/6BuGVQSGXiYCzlY1JKPnuv/ae4634cb56d94c39dc929afff537215a/WeatherPowerYearinReview2022_EN_.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }
Full text
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