This table represents the top 25 largest solar projects in the United States in terms of nameplate capacity (MW), as reportedby the Energy Information Administration. Projects must have received regulatory approval, but not yet achieved commercial operation date.
A majority of these systems employ single-axis trackers and many are also now using bifacial solar modules. These generate electricity from both the front face and the back side by reflection from the ground in areas of high albedo. An increasing number of projects are now including battery energy storage co-located at the solar project site. This is particularly prevalent in California. Looking ahead, the state has about 16 GW of projects with signed interconnection agreements in hand and a projected commercial operation date (COD) through the end of 2024. Almost 99% of these projects are solar plus energy storage hybrid projects.
All projects must be listed on EIA 860 Monthly, and have at least achieved regulatory approval.NA = Not available
T = Regulatory approvals received. Not under construction
U = Under construction, less than or equal to 50% complete
V = Under construction, more than 50% complete
TS = Construction complete, not yet in commercial operation
| Plant Name | Owner | Developer | State | County | Capacity (MW) | Storage (MW) | Status (see notes) | Planned Operation Date | Balancing Authority | Mount | Module | Offtaker | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Creek Solar LLC | Big Creek Solar LLC | NA | AR | Lee | 400 | T | June 2024 | MISO | NA | NA | NA | ||
 | Desert Quartzite | First Solar | EDF Renewables | CA | Riverside | 480 | 600MWh | T | March 2023 | CISO | Single-axis and fixed | CdTe | Clean Power Alliance |
 | Daggett 3 | Global Infrastructure Partners | Clearway Energy Group | CA | San Bernardino | 300 | 387/4 hour | U | Sept 2023 | CISO | NA | NA | CPA, EBCE, Constellation, MCE, PG&E |
 | Athos Solar Project | SoftBank Energy | Intersect Power | CA | Riverside | 250 | U | June 2022 | CISO | Nextracker, single-axis | First Solar | Direct Energy Business | |
 | Chaparral Springs | Leeward Asset Management | McCarthy Building Companies | CA | Kern | 250 | 52/4 hour | U | Dec 2022 | CISO | NA | First Solar | Central Coast Community Energy, Silicon Valley Energy |
 | Neptune Energy Center Hybrid | NextEra Energy Resources | NextEra Energy | CO | Pueblo | 250 | 125 | U | Dec 2022 | PSCO | NA | NA | NA |
 | Arroyo Solar Energy Storage Hybrid | Enel Green Power | Enel Green Power | NM | McKinley | 300 | 150/4 hour | U | Jan 2023 | PNM | Nextracker, single-axis | NA | PNM |
 | Gemini Solar | Gemini Solar | Primergy | NV | Clark | 690 | 380 | U | Nov 2023 | NEVP | Single-axis | Maxeon, Bifacial | NV Energy |
| Hot Pot Solar | Primergy Solar | Primergy | NV | Humboldt | 350 | 280/4 hour | T | Dec 2024 | NEVP | Single-axis | NA | NV Energy |
 | Eagle Shadow Mountain Solar Farm | 8minute Energy | NA | NV | Clark | 300 | V | October 2022 | NEVP | Single-axis | Bifacial, crystalline silicon | NA | |
 | Highland Solar Farm | Hecate Energy Highland LLC | NA | OH | Highland | 300 | U | Nov 2022 | PJM | Single-axis | Tier 1, crystalline silicon | City of Cincinnati | |
 | Renegade Solar Project (Dawn) | Blue Planet Funding | Blue Planet Funding | TX | Deaf Smith | 515 | T | Dec 2023 | ERCO | Single-axis | NA | NA | |
| Roseland Solar Project, LLC | Enel Green Power | NA | TX | Falls | 500 | 59 | U | Q4 2022 | ERCO | NA | NA | NA |
 | Aktina Solar | Rosendin | Rosendin/Tokyo Gas America | TX | Wharton | 500 | V | Dec 2022 | ERCO | Genius Tracker, single-axis; GameChange, speed clamps | JinkoSolar | ERCOT Wholesale | |
 | Hornet Solar (TX) | Vesper Energy | Vesper Energy | TX | Swisher | 500 | T | Dec 2023 | ERCO | Single-axis | NA | Pfizer | |
 | Old 300 Solar Center, LLC | Orsted | Orsted | TX | Fort Bend | 430 | V | July 2022 | ERCO | Single-axis | Longi, Bifacial | CenterPoint Energy | |
 | Fighting Jays Solar Project | AP Solar 2, LLC | Avondale Solar, Plus Renewable Technologies | TX | Fort Bend | 350 | V | June 2022 | ERCO | NA | NA | Shell Power | |
 | Delilah Solar Energy II LLC | Invenergy Services LLC | Invenergy | TX | Red River | 310 | U | June 2023 | ERCO | NA | NA | NA | |
| Delilah Solar Energy LLC | Invenergy Services LLC | Invenergy | TX | Red River | 300 | TS | June 2022 | ERCO | NA | NA | NA | |
 | IP Radian, LLC | IP Radian, LLC | NA | TX | Brown | 300 | U | Nov 2022 | ERCO | Nextracker, NX Horizon, and TrueCapture | NA | Apple | |
 | Noble Solar | National Grid Renewables | Signal Energy | TX | Denton | 275 | 125 | V | June 2022 | ERCO | NA | First Solar | The Home Depot, NRG, The Hershey Company |
| Samson Solar Energy | Invenergy Services LLC | Invenergy | TX | Franklin | 250 | V | May 2022 | ERCO | Single-axis | NA | Honda, AT&T, Google, and others | |
| Samson Solar Energy III LLC | Invenergy Services LLC | Invenergy | TX | Lamar | 250 | U | July 2022 | ERCO | Single-axis | NA | Honda, AT&T, Google, and others | |
 | Sun Valley Solar Project | ENGIE North America | Alpin Sun | TX | Hill | 250 | V | Dec 2022 | ERCO | NA | NA | NA | |
 | Notch Peak Solar LLC | BayWa r.e. | BayWa r.e. | UT | Millard | 324 | T | Jan 2025 | LDWP | NA | NA | LADWP |
Texas is a top market for solar and energy storage at the utility-scale. The state has 28 GW of high-probability solar projects on the way, or 50% more than California in a three-year horizon.
Interestingly, Texas may have enough solar on the way to permanently retire all its coal capacity. A research team at Rice University found that just a third of the wind and solar projects proposed to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) by June 2020 could replace almost all of the state’s coal generation. Since June 2020, dozens of those projects have been built, and the queue of proposed solar projects has doubled.
Most of these largest projects are set to come online before 2025. Many projects this year were delayed or cancelled as a result of an ongoing investigation into alleged anti dumping violations by Chinese companies to four Southeast Asian countries that supply 80% of U.S. polysilicon solar panels. As solar deployment slowed due to module supply issues, the technology ranked third in overall new generation during the first six months of the year, installing 4.2 GW, trailing natural gas (4.3 GW) and wind (5.2 GW), according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
About 20% of utility-scale solar projects, sized 1 MW and up, were delayed in the first half of 2022, said EIA. Reports show solar installations were delayed by an average of 4.4 GW each month, compared with average monthly delays of 2.6 GW during the same period last year.
The EIA surveyed project developers and found most of the projects that will come online in the next 18 months are currently under construction. About 1.9 GW of solar capacity projects currently under construction have met delays but are still scheduled to come online in 2022 while another 1.7 GW of projects under construction have been delayed until 2023.
However, now that a two-year moratorium on anti dumping tariffs on solar has been passed along with the Inflation Reduction Act, solar deployment is expected to be supercharged. In a report made by a consortium led by Princeton University called the REPEAT project, it is estimated that solar deployment may accelerate from 2020 rates of 10 GW a year to 50 GW a year by 2024. By 2031, that number may reach as high as 100 GW per year, according to the REPEAT study.
