U.S. solar statistics, at a glance

Key findings

Short, attributable one-liners from the same live queries as the charts. Quote with the Cite this page block.

1. EIA reports 124,310 MW of U.S. solar nameplate in 2024 across 6,496 facilities.
2. That 2024 stock is 126 times the 987 MW EIA reported for 2010.
3. California leads 2024 nameplate at 22,563 MW, 97 MW above Texas at 22,466 MW. Together they hold 36.2% of the U.S. total.
4. California files 878 facilities for that lead; Texas files 180 facilities at nearly the same megawatts. Facility count is not capacity.
5. The 2024 EIA nameplate table in this rebuild covers 50 jurisdictions (states plus D.C. where filed). North Dakota has no 2024 row.
6. This rebuild tracks 137 DSIRE programs. Net metering rules are the most common type (46 of 137).
7. 41 of 51 jurisdictions have full retail net metering. Indiana and West Virginia are coded none.
8. NREL average irradiance in this table runs from Alaska at 3.4 kWh/m²/day to Arizona at 6.5.

Key figures

Crawlable, citable statistics with units and source. EIA year 2024. DSIRE extract 2026-07-05.

124 GW

U.S. installed solar nameplate (2024)EIA

126×

growth in installed nameplate since 2010EIA

6,496

reported U.S. solar facilities (2024)EIA

41/51

jurisdictions with full retail net meteringDSIRE

137

tracked state/utility incentive programsDSIRE

4.82

avg U.S. irradiance (kWh/m²/day)NREL

U.S. installed solar capacity, 1990-2024

U.S. solar policy and market milestones

1. 1997
   State Policy

   First State RPS (Nevada)

   First renewable portfolio standard.

   Started 30+ state clean energy mandates.

2. 2006
   Federal

   Solar ITC Extended (30%)

   30% ITC for residential and commercial solar.

   Installations grew 10x from 2006-2012.

3. 2010
   Industry

   U.S. Reaches 1 GW Solar

   First gigawatt of cumulative solar capacity.

   Milestone via utility-scale Southwest projects.

4. 2010
   Industry

   Community Solar Launches

   Colorado first community solar garden.

   Solar access for renters in 40+ states.

5. 2016
   State Policy

   Net Metering in 43 States

   43 states had mandatory net metering policies.

   Primary incentive for residential solar.

6. 2021
   Industry

   U.S. Reaches 100 GW Solar

   Enough to power 18 million homes.

   Fastest-growing electricity source.

7. 2022
   Federal

   IRA Extends ITC to 2032

   30% ITC extended through 2032 with adders.

   10-year certainty for solar investment.

8. 2023
   State Policy

   California NEM 3.0

   Export compensation reduced ~75%.

   Shifted economics toward battery storage.

9. 2023
   Industry

   Solar Employs 263K Workers

   U.S. solar industry employs 263,000+ workers.

   Largest clean energy employer in most states.

10. 2024
    Industry

    U.S. Surpasses 200 GW

    200 GW across all sectors.

    ~6% of U.S. electricity generation.

Milestones compiled by PlainSolarData from public DOE, EIA, and industry records.