By Meris Lutz of UtilityDive
Summary
The U.S. installed nearly 26 GW of new generation capacity between January and August 2025, up slightly from the approximately 23 GW installed over the same period last year, according to the most recent monthly infrastructure report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
As it has for most of the past two years, solar continued to dominate new generation resources, accounting for 2.7 GW out of 4 GW brought online in August alone, and 19 GW — about three-quarters — of generation capacity additions this year.
The report also says FERC reissued a certificate for Williams Companies to construct and operate its Northeast Supply Enhancement Project. That expansion of the Transco gas pipeline from New Jersey to New York was revived following talks between President Donald Trump and Gov. Kathy Hochul in May after the Trump administration briefly froze the Empire Wind project. The White House and the developer of the wind project have told journalists the two sides reached a gas-for-wind deal, while Hochul has denied striking such a bargain.
Solar dominated capacity additions, according to FERC’s monthly report, while a controversial gas pipeline project from New Jersey to New York got a green light.
The report shows momentum for renewables continuing, despite the federal government’s emphasis on fossil fuels and nuclear. FERC lists 136 GW of “high probability additions” through August 2028, with renewables, led by solar and followed by wind, accounting for nearly 84%. Natural gas accounts for about 15% of high probability additions.
“Notwithstanding impediments created by the Trump Administration and the Republican-controlled Congress, solar and wind continue to add more generating capacity than fossil fuels and nuclear power,” the Sun Day Campaign’s executive director Ken Bossong said in a statement. “And FERC foresees renewable energy’s role expanding in the next three years while the shares provided by coal, oil, natural gas, and nuclear all contract.”
Large renewable projects that began operating in August include Hecate Energy’s 517-MW Outpost solar and storage project in Webb County, Texas; Gibson Solar’s 280-MW project in Gibson County, Indiana; and expansions at the Roadrunner Crossing Wind Farm in Eastland County, Texas, totaling 254 MW.
While solar and wind made up most of the new generation added in August, a number of smaller gas generators also came online that month, totaling 888 MW. They include: Southern Indiana Gas & Electric Co’s 248-MW A.B. Brown expansion project in Posey County, Indiana; Basin Electric Power Coop’s 245-MW Pioneer Generation Station expansion in Williams County, North Dakota; and Lower Colorado River Authority’s 188-MW Maxwell Peaker Plant in Caldwell County, Texas.
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