@techreport{36041,
  author = {Mark Bolinger and Joachim Seel and Julie Mulvaney Kemp and Cody Warner and Anjali Katta and Dana Robson},
  title = {Utility-Scale Solar, 2023 Edition: Empirical Trends in Deployment, Technology, Cost, Performance, PPA Pricing, and Value in the United States},
  abstract = {<p>Berkeley Lab{\textquoteright}s {\textquotedblleft}Utility-Scale Solar, 2023 Edition{\textquotedblright} presents analysis of empirical plant-level data from the U.S. fleet of ground-mounted photovoltaic (PV), PV+battery, and concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) plants with capacities exceeding 5 MW<sub>AC</sub> (PV plants of 5 MW<sub>AC</sub> or less, including residential rooftop systems, are covered separately in Berkeley Lab{\textquoteright}s companion annual report, <a title="Tracking the Sun webpage link" href="https://emp.lbl.gov/tracking-the-sun/" target="_blank"><em>Tracking the Sun</em></a>).</p><p>Highlights of this year{\textquoteright}s update include:</p><ul><li>10.4 GW<sub>AC</sub> of new utility-scale PV capacity came online in 2022, bringing cumulative installed capacity to more than 61.7 GW<sub>AC</sub> across 46 states.</li><li>94\% of all new utility-scale PV capacity added in 2022 uses single-axis tracking.</li><li>Median installed project costs declined to $1.32/W<sub>AC</sub> (or $1.07/W<sub>DC</sub>) in 2022.</li><li>Plant-level capacity factors vary widely, from 9\% to 35\% (on an AC basis), with a sample median of 24\%. The report explores drivers of this variation.</li><li>Utility-scale PV{\textquoteright}s LCOE fell to $39/MWh in 2022 ($29/MWh if factoring in the federal investment tax credit, or ITC).</li><li>PPA prices have largely followed the decline in solar{\textquoteright}s LCOE over time, but have recently stagnated and even moved slightly higher. Prices from a sample of recent contracts average around $20-30/MWh (levelized) in the West and $30-40/MWh elsewhere in the continental US.</li><li>In 2022, solar{\textquoteright}s average market value (defined in the report to include only energy and capacity value) rose by 40\% to $71/MWh and exceeded average wholesale prices in 4 of the 7 ISOs/RTOs and 11 of 18 other balancing authorities analyzed.</li><li>Adding battery storage is one way to increase the value of solar. Our public data file tracks metadata and PPA prices from ~100 PV+battery hybrid projects that are already online or that have secured offtake arrangements.</li><li>At the end of 2022, there were at least 947 GW of utility-scale solar power capacity within the interconnection queues across the nation, 456 GW of which include batteries.</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>},
  year = {2023},
  month = {10/2023},
  note = {<p>A webinar summarizing key findings from the report recorded on Wednesday, October 18, 2023, can be viewed <a href="https://emp.lbl.gov/webinar/utility-scale-solar-2023-edition"><strong>here</strong></a>.\&nbsp;</p><p>A brief overview of this study can be found <a href="https://emp.lbl.gov/news/berkeley-lab-s-latest-utility-scale-solar-1"><strong>here</strong></a>.\&nbsp;</p>},
  language = {eng},
}