The US energy network added more solar power capacities in 2024 than from any other source in a single year in more than two decades, according to a new industry report released on Tuesday.
The data was released a day after the new US energy secretary Chris Wright strongly criticized solar and wind energy on two fronts. He said on Monday at the beginning of Ceraweek from S&P Global, an annual Houston Energy Conference that they could not meet the growing needs of the world’s electricity and that their use was increasing energy costs.
The report, produced by the solar power industry association and Wood Mackezie, a research firm, said that about 50 gigawatts of new solar generation capacity were added last year, much more than any other source of electricity.
Mr. Wright and President Trump have been very critical of renewable energy, which former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. sampled as a way to address climate change. The Energy Secretary, Mr. Trump and the Republicans in Congress, have pledged to undo Mr Biden’s climate and energy policies.
“Beyond the obvious degree and cost problems, there is simply no physical way with wind, solar and batteries can replace numerous uses of natural gas,” Mr. Wright, who was previously the chief executive of a oil and gas production company.
However, solar energy and battery storage systems seem to have significant momentum and may not easily break down. The US Energy Information Administration, which is part of Mr. Wright’s department, said last month was expected to continue to run new capacity installations on US electrical networks this year.
Proponents of pure energy celebrated solar energy points while the world moves to increase electricity production to meet the needs of hungry energy centers to support artificial intelligence growth.
“There is a wild agreement that in order to do this, we need to have enough electricity, and there are facts that show that the fastest way to do it and the cheapest way to do so is by setting the sun and storage,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, President and Chief Executive of the Solar Association, said in an interview at Ceraweek.
In a panel discussion, the leader of one of the country’s largest services companies accepted the ability of the sun to deliver the new generation of electricity quickly and cheap.
“Renewed renovations are ready to go now because they have been running,” said John Ketchum, President and Chief Executive of Nextera Energy, the largest American renewable producer and Florida Power & Light’s parent company, a vehicle that burns natural gas.
But Mr. Wright said the increasing use of solar and wind energy is increasing the cost of electricity, which has steadily increased the last two years. Some of this increase have been due to the sharp jump of oil and natural gas costs after Russia’s occupation in 2022 in Ukraine and for the improvements in the networks that experts say municipal services had avoided for many years.
“The wind and the sun, the fathers of the latest administration and many of the world today, supply approximately 3 percent of the primary global energy,” said Mr. Wright. “Everywhere wind and sun penetration have increased significantly, the prices on the grid increased and the stability of the network decreased.”
Electricity rates across the country reached their highest levels in 2024, raising on average 4 percent nationwide to $ 162.60 per month in December for 1000-hour use, from $ 156,90 a year earlier, according to the latest federal data.
Even when prices rise, electricity demand is expected to increase drastically. Mr. Ketchum predicted a 55 percent increase in electricity demand over the next 20 years, almost one fifth of what was related to the growth of data centers, with the industrial production and growth that make up the rest.
Given the forecasts for increasing electricity demand, energy experts said governments should focus on affordability, reliability and security of domestic and global energy, while not losing attention to climate change concerns.
“There will be bumps on the street,” said Ernest Moniz, who was secretary of energy in the Obama administration for a panel discussion in Ceraweek. “We’re switching to this future with low carbon.”