Solar Market and Cost Analysis
Solar Generation as a Percentage of Total
Net Generation
Solar Generation as a Percentage
of Total Generation, Q4 2021-Q3 2022
30%
25%
27.3%
22.9%
20%
15%
10%
5%
19.4%
17.5% 17.1%
CSP
Residential
C&I
UPV
•
11.1%
10.0%
9.5%
9.0%
6.7%
6.2% 5.9% 5.6% 5.4% 5.3% 4.6%
·
0%
CA NV MA VT
HI UT AZ RI NC NJ NM CO ME GA VA FL U.S.
Note: EIA monthly data for 2022 are not final. Additionally, smaller utilities report information to EIA on a yearly basis, and
therefore a certain amount of solar data has not yet been reported. "Net Generation" includes distributed PV generation. Net
generation does not take into account imports and exports to and from each state, and therefore the percentage of solar
consumed in each state may vary from its percentage of net generation.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), "Electricity Data Browser." Accessed January 23, 2023.
•
During the 1-year time span from Q4 2021 to Q3
2022, 17 states generated more than 5% of their
electricity from solar, with California leading the
way at 27.3%.
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-
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Five states (California, Nevada, Massachusetts,
Vermont, and Hawaii) generated more than 15% of
their electricity using solar.
These five states have consistently led in solar
generation for several years, although Nevada
overtook Massachusetts and Vermont overtook
Hawaii during this period.
Colorado, Maine, Georgia, Virginia, and Florida all
recently surpassed 5% solar generation.
Interestingly, despite having significant levels of
deployment, Texas, at 4.7%, has yet to hit this
threshold.
Nationally, 4.6% of electricity was generated
from solar-up from 3.9% during calendar year
2021.
The roles of utility and distributed solar varies
by state. Southern and Western states rely more
on utility-scale solar, while northern states and
Hawaii rely more on distributed solar. NREL 16View entire presentation