Related Datasets

Utility-Scale Solar, 2026 Edition: Analysis of Empirical Plant-level Data from U.S. Ground-mounted PV, PV+battery, and CSP Plants (exceeding 5 MWAC)

In progress License

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory compiled and synthesized empirical data on the U.S. utility-scale solar sector. The focus is on ground-mounted systems larger than 5MAC, including photovoltaic (PV) standalone and PV+battery hybrid projects (smaller projects are covered in Berkeley Lab?s separate U.S. Distributed Solar and Storage annual data update). Data sources are diverse and include data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and state agencies. The latest update contains project-level data on 1,989 solar projects installed through 2025.
The update includes data synthesis covering:
(1) Deployment and Technology Trends
(2) Capital Costs (CapEx) and Operation & Maintenance (O&M) Costs
(3) Performance (Capacity Factors)
(4) Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) and Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) Prices
(5) Wholesale Market Value and Net Value
(6) PV+Battery Hybrid Plants (Deployment, CapEx, LCOE, PPAs, Idealized Value and Net Value)
(7) Concentrating Solar Thermal Power (CSP) Plants
(8) Capacity in Interconnection Queues

These data are made available in several formats, including a summary slide deck, a public data file with non-confidential data on 60 tabs and additional visualizations, and data visualizations.

Citation Formats

TY  - DATA
AB  - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory compiled and synthesized empirical data on the U.S. utility-scale solar sector. The focus is on ground-mounted systems larger than 5MAC, including photovoltaic (PV) standalone and PV+battery hybrid projects (smaller projects are covered in Berkeley Lab?s separate U.S. Distributed Solar and Storage annual data update). Data sources are diverse and include data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and state agencies. The latest update contains project-level data on 1,989 solar projects installed through 2025. 
The update includes data synthesis covering: 
(1)	Deployment and Technology Trends
(2)	Capital Costs (CapEx) and Operation & Maintenance (O&M) Costs
(3)	Performance (Capacity Factors)
(4)	Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) and Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) Prices
(5)	Wholesale Market Value and Net Value 
(6)	PV+Battery Hybrid Plants (Deployment, CapEx, LCOE, PPAs, Idealized Value and Net Value)
(7)	Concentrating Solar Thermal Power (CSP) Plants
(8)	Capacity in Interconnection Queues

These data are made available in several formats, including a summary slide deck, a public data file with non-confidential data on 60 tabs and additional visualizations, and data visualizations.
AU  - Seel, Joachim
A2  - Kemp, Julie
A3  - Cheyette, Anna
A4  - Gorman, Will
A5  - Darghouth, Naim
A6  - Robson, Dana
A7  - Rand, Joseph
A8  - Jeong, Seongeun
DB  - Open Energy Data Initiative (OEDI)
DP  - Open EI | National Laboratory of the Rockies
DO  - 
KW  - energy
KW  - power
KW  - solar
KW  - Berkeley Lab
KW  - capital costs
KW  - capacity factors
KW  - LCOE
KW  - Power Purchase Agreements
KW  - wholesale market value
KW  - utility-scale solar
KW  - PV
KW  - battery
KW  - operating costs
KW  - interconnection queue
KW  - market analysis
LA  - English
DA  - 2026/09/24
PY  - 2026
PB  - Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
T1  - Utility-Scale Solar, 2026 Edition: Analysis of Empirical Plant-level Data from U.S. Ground-mounted PV, PV+battery, and CSP Plants (exceeding 5 MWAC)
UR  - https://data.openei.org/submissions/8783
ER  -

Export Citation to RIS

Seel, Joachim, et al. Utility-Scale Solar, 2026 Edition: Analysis of Empirical Plant-level Data from U.S. Ground-mounted PV, PV+battery, and CSP Plants (exceeding 5 MWAC). Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, 24 September, 2026, Open Energy Data Initiative (OEDI). https://data.openei.org/submissions/8783.

Seel, J., Kemp, J., Cheyette, A., Gorman, W., Darghouth, N., Robson, D., Rand, J., & Jeong, S. (2026). Utility-Scale Solar, 2026 Edition: Analysis of Empirical Plant-level Data from U.S. Ground-mounted PV, PV+battery, and CSP Plants (exceeding 5 MWAC). [Data set]. Open Energy Data Initiative (OEDI). Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. https://data.openei.org/submissions/8783

Seel, Joachim, Julie Kemp, Anna Cheyette, Will Gorman, Naim Darghouth, Dana Robson, Joseph Rand, and Seongeun Jeong. Utility-Scale Solar, 2026 Edition: Analysis of Empirical Plant-level Data from U.S. Ground-mounted PV, PV+battery, and CSP Plants (exceeding 5 MWAC). Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, September, 24, 2026.  Distributed by Open Energy Data Initiative (OEDI). https://data.openei.org/submissions/8783

@misc{OEDI_Dataset_8783,
title = {Utility-Scale Solar, 2026 Edition: Analysis of Empirical Plant-level Data from U.S. Ground-mounted PV, PV+battery, and CSP Plants (exceeding 5 MWAC)},
author = {Seel, Joachim and Kemp, Julie and Cheyette, Anna and Gorman, Will and Darghouth, Naim and Robson, Dana and Rand, Joseph and Jeong, Seongeun},
abstractNote = {Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory compiled and synthesized empirical data on the U.S. utility-scale solar sector. The focus is on ground-mounted systems larger than 5MAC, including photovoltaic (PV) standalone and PV+battery hybrid projects (smaller projects are covered in Berkeley Lab?s separate U.S. Distributed Solar and Storage annual data update). Data sources are diverse and include data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and state agencies. The latest update contains project-level data on 1,989 solar projects installed through 2025. 

The update includes data synthesis covering: 

(1)	Deployment and Technology Trends

(2)	Capital Costs (CapEx) and Operation \& Maintenance (O\&M) Costs

(3)	Performance (Capacity Factors)

(4)	Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) and Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) Prices

(5)	Wholesale Market Value and Net Value 

(6)	PV+Battery Hybrid Plants (Deployment, CapEx, LCOE, PPAs, Idealized Value and Net Value)

(7)	Concentrating Solar Thermal Power (CSP) Plants

(8)	Capacity in Interconnection Queues



These data are made available in several formats, including a summary slide deck, a public data file with non-confidential data on 60 tabs and additional visualizations, and data visualizations.},
url = {https://data.openei.org/submissions/8783},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Open Energy Data Initiative (OEDI), Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, https://data.openei.org/submissions/8783},
note = {Accessed: 2026-09-24}
}

Details

Data from Sep 24, 2026

Last updated Sep 24, 2026

Submission in progress