The State of Utility Planning, 2024 Q4

The RMI report 'The State of Utility Planning, 2024 Q4' analyzes updates to Integrated Resource Plans (IRPs) for US electric utilities. It finds that while load projections did not increase in Q4 2024, utilities increased planned gas capacity and reduced planned wind and solar capacity, leading to an 8 percent increase in projected emissions for those updating their plans.

• Utilities that updated their Integrated Resource Plans (IRPs) in Q4 2024 increased projected emissions by 8 percent. This increase resulted from a reduction of 20 GW in planned wind and solar capacity by 2035 and an increase of 12 GW in planned gas plants by 2035.
• Across all US IRPs, projected electricity load is expected to grow 20 percent by 2035 compared to 2021 levels. This represents a significant increase from previous projections, which were 12 percent at the end of 2023, 9 percent in August 2022, and 7 percent in January 2021.
• There is a gap between current utility projections and decarbonization pathways like the IEA Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario, which requires the electricity sector to reach net-zero by 2035. Based on IRPs at the end of 2024, emissions are projected to be reduced by only 56 percent by 2035 compared to a 2005 baseline.
• Planned capacity in US IRPs between 2023 and 2035 includes 260 GW of wind and solar additions, 84 GW of gas additions, and 74 GW of coal retirements. The 84 GW of planned gas additions is 32 GW higher than what was planned at the end of 2023.
• Utilities cited several reasons for reducing planned wind and solar capacity in Q4 2024, including interconnection difficulties, strict reliability needs for customers such as data centers, and changing reserve margins and capacity accreditation rules in SPP and MISO.

APA

RMI (2025). The State of Utility Planning, 2024 Q4. https://rmi.org/resources/the-state-of-utility-planning-2024-q4/

Chicago

RMI. The State of Utility Planning, 2024 Q4. 2025. https://rmi.org/resources/the-state-of-utility-planning-2024-q4/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=The State of Utility Planning, 2024 Q4 |date=15 January 2025 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/the-state-of-utility-planning-2024-q4/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2025state, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{The State of Utility Planning, 2024 Q4}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/the-state-of-utility-planning-2024-q4/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }