The American Clean Power Association (ACP) has published its Clean Power Annual Market Report | 2024, highlighting the sector's contribution to the national economy. Leading purchasers of clean electricity included companies from the Fortune 100 and 500 lists, particularly utilities and major technology firms. Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and Google together contracted 11.3GW of clean energy capacity in 2024—comparable to the total installed clean power in Florida, the USA’s fifth largest clean energy state. This reflects the increasing demand for renewable energy to power the expanding data centre sector.
According to the report, the clean energy industry supported 1.4 million jobs across the USA in 2024 and attracted nearly $80 billion in investment.
Key developments in 2024
Scaling and deployment:
- The clean power sector deployed nearly 49GW of new infrastructure, backed by close to $80 billion in investment.
- A total of 45 new manufacturing projects were launched, accounting for more than $9 billion in domestic industrial investment.
- For the first time, electricity generated from wind and utility-scale solar surpassed coal, together contributing almost 16% of national electricity generation.
- At the end of 2023, the USA interconnection queue totalled 2,367GW, with over 95% consisting of wind, solar, and storage projects.
Rising demand and grid needs:
- New clean energy capacity will be vital to meeting short- and medium-term electricity demand, with renewables typically faster to deploy than conventional sources.
- By 2040, the USA will require over 900GW of renewable energy and battery capacity, in addition to 60–100GW of new gas-fired power, to maintain grid reliability.
Economic impact:
- The clean energy sector supports 1.4 million jobs—approximately 460,000 directly, with nearly one million in supply chains and related industries.
- Over the past 20 years, clean power companies have invested more than $600 billion, contributing to energy infrastructure upgrades and economic growth in all 50 states.
- Announcements of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) rose by 56% in 2024, indicating continued strong demand.
