@techreport{34412,
  author = {Mark Bolinger and Joachim Seel and Dana Robson and Cody Warner},
  title = {Utility-Scale Solar Data Update: 2020 Edition},
  abstract = {<p>Berkeley Lab{\textquoteright}s 2020 update of utility-scale solar data and trends provides an overview of key trends in the U.S. market, with a focus on 2019. Highlights of this year{\textquoteright}s update include:</p><ul><li>More than 4.5 GW<sub>AC</sub> of utility-scale solar (i.e., ground-mounted solar projects larger than 5 MW<sub>AC</sub>) achieved commercial operations in 2019, bringing cumulative capacity to 29 GW<sub>AC</sub>.\&nbsp; Projects are spread across all 10 regions that we track, though more heavily concentrated in the sunniest regions.\&nbsp;</li><li>The median installed cost of projects that came online in 2019 fell to $1.4/W<sub>AC</sub> ($1.2/W<sub>DC</sub>), down 20\% from 2018 and down by more than 70\% from 2010. 77\% of projects and 88\% of capacity added in 2019 used single-axis tracking.\&nbsp;</li><li>Average capacity factors range from 17\% in the least-sunny regions to 30\% where it is sunniest.\&nbsp; Single-axis tracking adds roughly five percentage points to capacity factor in the regions with the strongest solar resource.</li><li>Nationwide average levelized power purchase agreement (PPA) prices fell to $24/MWh in 2019, down 17\% from 2018 and more than 80\% since 2010. Thirty-nine projects (totaling 4.2 GW<sub>AC</sub>) in our PPA price sample include battery storage (totaling 2.3 GW<sub>AC</sub> and 9.5 GWh). In the {\textquotedblleft}lower 48{\textquotedblright} states, a number of these recent PV+battery PPAs have been inked in the mid-$20/MWh range (levelized in 2019 dollars).</li><li>Not including the 30\% investment tax credit (ITC), the median levelized cost of energy (LCOE) from utility-scale PV has declined by 85\% since 2010, to $40/MWh in 2019. When the 30\% ITC is included within the LCOE calculation, the median LCOE closely tracks the median PPA price over time.</li><li>In higher-penetration markets like CAISO, the value of solar has been declining, but falling PPA prices have largely kept pace, preserving solar{\textquoteright}s net value.</li><li>At the end of 2019, there were nearly 370 GW of solar in interconnection queues from all 7 ISOs and 30 additional utilities across the country. Nearly a third of this proposed solar capacity is paired with battery storage.</li></ul><p>For more information and to explore related interactive data visualizations, go to <a title="Project page link" href="https://emp.lbl.gov/utility-scale-solar" target="_blank">utilityscalesolar.lbl.gov</a>.</p><p>\&nbsp;</p>},
  year = {2020},
  month = {11/2020},
  url = {https://emp.lbl.gov/utility-scale-solar},
  note = {<p>A webinar recorded December 8, 2020, featuring data and analysis from our\&nbsp;<strong><a title="Utility-Scale Solar page" href="https://emp.lbl.gov/utility-scale-solar/" target="_blank"><strong>utility-scale solar</strong></a></strong>\&nbsp;<em>and\&nbsp;</em><strong><strong><a title="Wind Technologies Market Report page" href="https://emp.lbl.gov/wind-technologies-market-report/" target="_blank">utility-scale wind</a></strong></strong>\&nbsp;market tracking products can be viewed\&nbsp;<strong><a title="Webinar link" href="https://emp.lbl.gov/webinar/utility-scale-wind-and-solar-us" target="_blank">here</a>.\&nbsp;</strong></p>},
  language = {eng},
}