Contents
- Community solar capacity statistics: U.S. annual installations and milestones
- Community solar capacity statistics: state concentration and leading markets
- Community solar capacity statistics: Minnesota cumulative solar garden capacity
- Community solar capacity statistics: utility service areas and project sizes
- Community solar capacity statistics: operating capacity in major state programs
- Sources
Community solar capacity statistics: U.S. annual installations and milestones
Reported U.S. community solar capacity depends on the source, measurement unit and reporting period. SEIA and Wood Mackenzie recorded 1,745 MWdc of new capacity in calendar year 2024, up 35% from 2023. The same report counted 749 MWdc in Q4 2024. These are annual and quarterly additions, respectively, rather than cumulative capacity. SEIA and Wood Mackenzie, 2024 Year in Review
Wood Mackenzie’s H1 2026 executive summary reports 1,435 MWdc installed in 2025, including 919 MWdc in H2. It also places cumulative U.S. installations at 10.1 GWdc through Q4 2025, when the market passed the 10 GWdc milestone. That cumulative total describes installations tracked in its market coverage; it should be read as a later snapshot than the 8.6 GWdc figure in SEIA’s 2024 report. Wood Mackenzie, US Community Solar Outlook H1 2026 Executive Summary SEIA and Wood Mackenzie, 2024 Year in Review
| Measure | Reported capacity | Period and unit |
|---|---|---|
| New U.S. installations | 1,745 MWdc | 2024 |
| New U.S. installations | 749 MWdc | Q4 2024 |
| Change in annual additions | 35% | 2024 compared with 2023 |
| New U.S. installations | 1,435 MWdc | 2025 |
| New U.S. installations | 919 MWdc | H2 2025 |
| Cumulative U.S. installations | 10.1 GWdc | Through Q4 2025 |
Sources: SEIA and Wood Mackenzie, 2024 Year in Review; Wood Mackenzie, H1 2026 Executive Summary
These figures use DC capacity. A separate NREL project-list snapshot uses AC capacity and estimates 7,870 MWac across 3,404 projects in 44 states and localities, including the District of Columbia, as of June 2024. The NREL total and later Wood Mackenzie total are not directly interchangeable: they use different units, source methods and snapshot dates. NREL notes that project-list reporting updates vary. NREL, Sharing the Sun: Community Solar (as of June 2024), slide 6
Community solar capacity statistics: state concentration and leading markets
The 2024 additions reported by SEIA and Wood Mackenzie were concentrated in a few state markets. New York added 861 MWdc and Maine added 370 MWdc. Together, the report says, the 2 states accounted for 71% of national community solar volumes in 2024. Illinois added 213 MWdc, an 82% increase compared with 2023. New York’s additions rose 66% year over year. SEIA and Wood Mackenzie, 2024 Year in Review
| State | New community solar capacity in 2024 | Reported year-over-year change |
|---|---|---|
| New York | 861 MWdc | 66% increase |
| Maine | 370 MWdc | Not reported here |
| Illinois | 213 MWdc | 82% increase |
Source: SEIA and Wood Mackenzie, 2024 Year in Review
The state additions are annual flows, while the 8.6 GWdc cumulative U.S. figure in the 2024 year-in-review report is a stock accumulated over multiple years. The report describes that cumulative total as nearly double what it was in 2021; it does not specify a precise as-of date for the 8.6 GWdc snapshot. SEIA and Wood Mackenzie, 2024 Year in Review
NREL’s June 2024 project-list snapshot provides another view of concentration, in MWac. It identifies Florida as the state with the largest community solar deployment capacity, with state totals ranging from 0 to 2,085 MWac. About 91% of cumulative capacity was located in 10 states, and about 73% was in Florida, New York, Massachusetts and Minnesota. The same analysis counted 26 states with more than 10 MWac installed. These are measures from the NREL snapshot and should not be combined with the DC figures above. NREL, Sharing the Sun, slides 6 and 10
Community solar capacity statistics: Minnesota cumulative solar garden capacity
Minnesota’s Public Utilities Commission charts cumulative installed DER capacity by technology. Within that chart, the “Solar - CSG” series reports solar garden capacity in MW. Its values rise from 37 MW through 2016 to 937 MW through 2025. This is a cumulative series, so each entry represents the reported total through that year, rather than capacity newly installed during the year. Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, Distributed Energy Resources in Minnesota (2025 data), p. 8
| Year | Cumulative Solar - CSG capacity |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 37 MW |
| 2017 | 248 MW |
| 2018 | 508 MW |
| 2019 | 658 MW |
| 2020 | 786 MW |
| 2021 | 832 MW |
| 2022 | 866 MW |
| 2023 | 905 MW |
| 2024 | 927 MW |
| 2025 | 937 MW |
Source: Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, Distributed Energy Resources in Minnesota (2025 data), p. 8
The series’ year-to-year pattern shows substantial reported increases earlier in the period and smaller increments in the later entries. The chart gives cumulative values, not annual additions, so it does not by itself identify what projects entered service or explain the changes. The PUC describes the systems represented as interconnected with utility distribution systems, operating in parallel, and under 10 MW. “Solar - CSG” is a specific series within that broader DER chart, not a measure of every solar installation in Minnesota. Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, Distributed Energy Resources in Minnesota (2025 data), p. 8
Community solar capacity statistics: utility service areas and project sizes
NREL’s June 2024 project list describes both where projects sit and the size range represented. The chart’s individual project bubbles span from less than 1 MWac to 200 MWac. NREL also estimates that an average of 900 MWac had been installed annually since 2016 through its June 2024 update. It identifies 2021 as the then-highest annual installation year, with more than 2 GWac, and reports 300 MWac of new capacity online in H1 2024. NREL, Sharing the Sun, slides 6–7
For 2023, the slide’s body text gives an average community solar project size of 1.2 MWac. The slide heading uses the term “median,” which conflicts with that body wording; the reported figure here follows the body’s explicit description as an average. This distinction matters because an average and a median describe different features of a project-size distribution. NREL, Sharing the Sun, slide 8
Utility service area data show how the market’s distribution changed between the reported periods. At the end of 2018, projects in investor-owned utility service areas represented 77% of community solar market share; cooperatives represented 13%, and municipal utilities represented 6%. By H1 2024, NREL reported that investor-owned utility service areas contained 90% of cumulative installed community solar capacity. The 2018 shares are reported as market share, while the 2024 figure describes the share of cumulative installed capacity. NREL, Sharing the Sun, slide 9
| Measure | Reported value | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Average annual capacity installed | 900 MWac | Since 2016 through June 2024 update |
| Annual installations | More than 2 GWac | 2021 |
| New capacity online | 300 MWac | H1 2024 |
| Average project size | 1.2 MWac | 2023 |
| Capacity in investor-owned utility service areas | 90% | Cumulative through H1 2024 |
Source: NREL, Sharing the Sun, slides 7–9
NREL reported 0.3 GWac (300 MWac) of new community solar capacity online in H1 2024. Sharing the Sun: Community Solar (as of June 2024), NREL
Community solar capacity statistics: operating capacity in major state programs
NREL’s state program profiles distinguish operational or completed capacity from capacity planned or expected. Those categories have different statuses and should not be treated as equivalent totals. The figures below retain the period and wording used in the June 2024 presentation. NREL, Sharing the Sun, slides 11 and 20–26
In Massachusetts, capacity additions over 2016–2021 were about 840 MWac, and cumulative capacity reached the 1 GWac milestone in 2023. By H1 2024, 1,014 MWac was in operation. The SMART program accounted for 594 MWac installed, or 59% of the state’s community solar installations, and had 263 MWac planned. Of the 594 MWac operational in SMART, 383 MWac was paired with energy storage. NREL’s planned SMART figure includes projects approved, pending or under construction, while projects under review and on a waitlist are excluded. NREL, Sharing the Sun, slides 11, 22–23
Minnesota also added about 840 MWac during 2016–2021. By the end of 2023, its community solar program had approximately 900 MWac operational. About 31 MWac of additional capacity was installed in H1 2024, and approximately 342 MWac was listed as planned in that report snapshot. NREL’s planned category for Minnesota includes projects in construction, study analysis and application stages. NREL, Sharing the Sun, slides 11 and 21
Florida’s program profile reports a cumulative 2.1 GWac of capacity coming online during 2020–2023. The NREL state comparison also places Florida at the top of the June 2024 project-list distribution, with 2,085 MWac. These descriptions use different formulations within the same presentation: the former refers to capacity coming online over a stated span; the latter is a project-list state capacity figure. NREL, Sharing the Sun, slides 6 and 11
New York had 1,764 MWac of operational community solar projects as of H1 2024. NREL also reported nearly 2,500 MWac planned in that snapshot. Its footnote defines planned capacity to include approved, pending approved, received and submitted projects, making it a broader pipeline category than operational capacity. A separate historical comparison says New York added 1.56 GWac over the 5 years preceding the June 2024 report. NREL, Sharing the Sun, slides 11 and 20
New Jersey had 124 MWac of projects in operation by H1 2024. The report also says the state had built more than 100 MWac of community solar projects since 2021 through that report period. The measures refer to different descriptions and windows: one is operational capacity at the snapshot, while the other describes projects built since 2021. NREL, Sharing the Sun, slides 11 and 25
Illinois had about 287 MWac complete across all programs as of H1 2024. Within Illinois Solar for All, about 9 MWac was in operation and 29 MWac of planned projects was reported. The program-specific figures sit within a broader state program landscape and should not be added to the all-program completed figure without aligned project status definitions. NREL, Sharing the Sun, slide 26