Last year saw records broken for clean energy use in the US, with 1.2 million electric vehicles sold, representing 7.6% of total vehicle sales in the country, analysis from the World Resources Institute (WRI) has shown. Solar energy installations also increased by roughly 55% from 2022 to a record 31 gigawatts (GW). The WRI said that even with significant project delays due to supply chain issues and other factors, solar was the fastest-growing power source in the US, representing half of all new utility-scale generating capacity in Q3 2023. Installed solar capacity in the country now totals 161 GW – enough to provide about 5% of the nation’s electricity, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. Battery storage also grew substantially in 2023, with installations in Q3 alone exceeding those of all of 2022. However, the picture was not all rosy, with many projects slated to come alive in 2023 pushed back, in part because of supply chain challenges. In addition, the rapid rise in interest rates that has resulted from actions by the Federal Reserve substantially increased the cost of capital for all energy projects. Clean energy projects are more sensitive to interest rate increases than some other forms of power generation, because they require significant upfront capital, the WRI explained.
