U.S. Energy Information Administration logo
Skip to sub-navigation

Electricity

Skip to page content
Glossary FAQS

Construction cost data for electric generators installed in 2023

Release Date: July 28, 2025 Next Release Date: September 2026 2023 TablesXLS

Presented below are graphs and tables of the cost data for generators installed in 2021 based on data collected by the 2021 Annual Electric Generator Report, Form EIA-860. The cost data for certain generation technologies were omitted to avoid disclosure of individual company data.

EIA expects to publish construction cost data for generators installed in 2022 in September 2024.

Read EIA's Electric Power Data Guide.
Previous years:
Select Year dropdown arrow

Presented below are graphs and tables of the cost data for generators installed in 2023 based on data collected by the 2023 Annual Electric Generator Report, Form EIA-860. The cost data for certain generation technologies were omitted to avoid disclosure of individual company data.

EIA expects to publish construction cost data for generators installed in 2024 in September 2026.

Read EIA's Electric Power Data Guide.

Jump to group:

All generators by: major energy source prime mover Census region top five states in capacity additions

By selected sources and type:

Natural gas: technology combined-cycle by prime mover
Solar PV: Census region top five states in capacity additions PV panel type and tracking system total capacity added at plant
Wind: Census region plant size wind class

Generators installed in 2023 by major energy source

notes
top
All plants by major energy source Capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW)
Solar 1,617
Battery storage 1,361
Wind 1,738
Natural gas 782
Petroleums liquids 906
Total capacity (MW) At new plants At existing plants
Solar 18,883 265
Battery storage 5,836 1,005
Wind 5,404 588
Natural gas 2,238 3,676
Petroleum liquids 33 16
Number of plants At new plants At existing plants
Solar 478 9
Battery storage 99 25
Wind 33 2
Natural gas 14 12
Petroleum liquids 5 11
All plants by major energy source Total cost (billion $)
Solar 31.0
Battery storage 9.3
Wind 10.4
Natural gas 4.6
Petroleum liquids 0.0
Number of generators by major energy source At new plants At existing plants
Solar 487 17
Battery storage 102 25
Wind 35 3
Natural gas 69 24
Petroleum liquids 13 11
Average new plants capacity or additional capacity At existing plants At new plants At existing plants
Solar 40 29
Battery storage 59 40
Wind 164 294
Natural gas 160 306
Petroleum liquids 7 1

Generators installed in 2023 by prime mover

notes
top
Capacity-weighted average cost per kilowatt of installed namepate capacity ($/kW) Capacity weighted-average cost ($/kW)
Photovoltaic 1,617
Energy storage, battery 1,361
Onshore wind turbine 1,738
Combustion turbine (as part of combined cycle) 782
Combustion turbine 562
Steam turbine (as part of combined cycle) 1,122
Internal combustion engine 1,248
Total included capacity(MW) At new plants At existing plants
Photovoltaic 18,883 265
Energy storage, battery 5,836 1,005
Onshore wind turbine 5,404 588
Combustion turbine (as part of combined cycle) 861 1,436
Combustion turbine 798 1,466
Steam turbine (as part of combined cycle) 430 765
Internal combustion engine 182 25
Number of generators At new plants At existing plants
Photovoltaic 487 17
Energy storage, battery 102 25
Onshore wind turbine 35 3
Combustion turbine (as part of combined cycle) 2 5
Combustion turbine 13 9
Steam turbine (as part of combined cycle) 2 3
Internal combustion engine 65 18
Average generator capacity at new or existing plants At new plants At existing plants
Photovoltaic 39 16
Energy storage, battery 58 40
Onshore wind turbine 154 196
Combustion turbine (as part of combined cycle) 431 287
Combustion turbine 61 163
Steam turbine (as part of combined cycle) 215 255
Internal combustion engine 3 1
Total construction cost total cost (billion $)
Photovoltaic 31.0
Energy storage, battery 9.3
Onshore wind turbine 10.4
Combustion turbine (as part of combined cycle) 1.8
Combustion turbine 1.3
Steam turbine (as part of combined cycle) 1.3
Internal combustion engine 0.2

Generators installed in 2023 by Census region

notes
top
Census regions Capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW)
South 1,240
West 1,550
Midwest 1,632
Northeast 2,366
Total included capacity At new plants At existing plants
South 13,678 4,301
West 10,438 1,070
Midwest 6,387 142
Northeast 1,893 38
Number of plants At new plants At existing plants
South 196 13
West 107 32
Midwest 130 6
Northeast 153 7
Number of generators At new plants At existing plants
South 253 27
West 141 40
Midwest 142 6
Northeast 170 7
Average new plant or additional capacity At existing plants At new plants At existing plants
South 70 331
West 98 33
Midwest 49 24
Northeast 12 5
Census region Total cost (billion $)
South 22.3
West 17.8
Midwest 10.7
Northeast 4.6

Generators installed in 2023 by top five states in capacity additions

notes
top
State capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW)
Texas 1,211
California 1,636
Florida 1,055
Alabama 981
Arizona 1,377
Total included capacity At new plants At existing plants
Texas 6,601 919
California 4,587 825
Florida 1,810 1,203
Alabama 913 1,468
Arizona 1,791 148
Number of plants At new plants At existing plants
Texas 62 4
California 56 10
Florida 29 3
Alabama 3 2
Arizona 8 7
Number of generators At new plants At existing plants
Texas 104 9
California 69 10
Florida 30 5
Alabama 4 5
Arizona 14 7
Average new plant or additional capacity At existing plants At new plants At existing plants
Texas 106 230
California 82 82
Florida 62 401
Alabama 304 734
Arizona 224 21
State total cost (billion $)
Texas 9.1
California 8.9
Florida 3.2
Alabama 2.3
Arizona 2.7

Natural gas generators installed in 2023 by technology

notes
top
Natural gas plants by type Capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW)
Combined cycle 898
Combustion turbine 562
Internal combustion engine 1,354
Total included capacity (MW) At new plants At existing plants
Combined cycle 1,291 2,201
Combustion turbine 798 1,466
Internal combustion engine 150 9
Number of plants At new plants At existing plants
Combined cycle 2 3
Combustion turbine 3 4
Internal combustion engine 9 5
Number of generators At new plants At existing plants
Combined cycle 4 8
Combustion turbine 13 9
Internal combustion engine 52 7
Average new plants capacity or additional capacity At existing plants At new plants At existing plants
Combined cycle 645 734
Combustion turbine 266 367
Internal combustion engine 17 2
Total construction cost Total cost (billion $)
Combined cycle 3.1
Combustion turbine 1.3
Internal combustion engine 0.2

Natural gas generators installed in 2023 at combined-cycle plants by prime mover

notes
top
Natural gas combined cycle plants by component Capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW)
Combustion turbine
(as part of combined cycle)		 782
Steam turbine
(as part of combined cycle)		 1,122
Total capacity At new plants At existing plants
Combustion turbine
(as part of combined cycle)		 861 1,436
Steam turbine
(as part of combined cycle)		 430 765
Number of generators At new plants At existing plants
Combustion turbine
(as part of combined cycle)		 2 5
Steam turbine
(as part of combined cycle)		 2 3
Average new plant or additional capacity At existing plants At new plants At existing plants
Combustion turbine
(as part of combined cycle)		 431 287
Steam turbine
(as part of combined cycle)		 215 255
Natural gas generators at combined-cycle plants by prime mover Total cost (billion $)
Combustion turbine
(as part of combined cycle)		 1.8
Steam turbine
(as part of combined cycle)		 1.3

Solar PV generators installed in 2023 by Census region

notes
top
Census regions Capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW)
South 1,543
West 1,544
Midwest 1,606
Northeast 2,584
Total included capacity At new plants At existing plants
South 8,707 0
West 5,422 220
Midwest 3,624 45
Northeast 1,131 0
Number of plants At new plants At existing plants
South 148 0
West 87 8
Midwest 107 1
Northeast 136 0
Number of generators At new plants At existing plants
South 150 0
West 87 16
Midwest 107 1
Northeast 143 0
Average new plant or additional capacity At existing plants At new plants At existing plants
South 59 0
West 62 28
Midwest 34 45
Northeast 8 0
Region Total cost (billion $)
South 13.4
West 8.7
Midwest 5.9
Northeast 2.9

Solar PV generators installed in 2023 by top five states in capacity additions

notes
top
Census regions capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW)
Texas 1,330
California 1,639
Florida 1,370
Ohio 1,476
Arizona 1,349
Total included capacity At new plants At existing plants
Texas 3,626 0
California 2,170 133
Florida 1,808 0
Ohio 1,323 0
Arizona 910 0
Number of plants At new plants At existing plants
Texas 20 0
California 45 1
Florida 29 0
Ohio 11 0
Arizona 6 0
Number of generators At new plants At existing plants
Texas 20 0
California 45 1
Florida 29 0
Ohio 11 0
Arizona 6 0
Average new plant or additional capacity At existing plants At new plants At existing plants
Texas 181 0
California 48 133
Florida 62 0
Ohio 120 0
Arizona 152 0
State total cost (billion $)
Texas 4.8
California 3.8
Florida 2.5
Ohio 2.0
Arizona 1.2

Solar PV generators installed in 2023 by PV panel type and tracking system

notes
top
Solar PV plants by tracking system Capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW)
Crystalline silicon,
axis-based tracking		 1,563
Crystalline silicon,
fixed tilt		 2,635
Thin-film CdTe,
all types		 1,663
Other 1,448
Total included capacity At new plants At existing plants
Crystalline silicon,
axis-based tracking		 12,024 265
Crystalline silicon,
fixed tilt		 817 1
Thin-film CdTe,
all types		 3,962 0
Other 2,081 0
Number of plants At new plants At existing plants
Crystalline silicon,
axis-based tracking		 258 8
Crystalline silicon,
fixed tilt		 133 1
Thin-film CdTe,
all types		 60 0
Other 27 0
Number of generators At new plants At existing plants
Crystalline silicon,
axis-based tracking		 259 8
Crystalline silicon,
fixed tilt		 141 9
Thin-film CdTe,
all types		 60 0
Other 27 0
Average new plant or additional capacity At existing plants At new plants At existing plants
Crystalline silicon,
axis-based tracking		 47 33
Crystalline silicon,
fixed tilt		 6 1
Thin-film CdTe,
all types		 66 0
Other 77 0
Solar PV plants by tracking system Total cost (billion $)
Crystalline silicon,
axis-based tracking		 19.2
Crystalline silicon,
fixed tilt		 2.2
Thin-film CdTe,
all types		 6.6
Other 3.0

Solar PV generators installed in 2023 by total added capacity at plant

notes
top
Plant size Capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW)
1–5 MW 2,909
5–10 MW 2,348
10–100 MW 1,772
Greater than 100 MW 1,420
Total included capacity At new plants At existing plants
1–5 MW 735 6
5–10 MW 127 19
10–100 MW 7,065 108
Greater than 100 MW 10,957 133
Number of plants At new plants At existing plants
1–5 MW 267 2
5–10 MW 17 3
10–100 MW 141 3
Greater than 100 MW 53 1
Number of generators At new plants At existing plants
1–5 MW 271 10
5–10 MW 18 3
10–100 MW 145 3
Greater than 100 MW 53 1
Average new plant or additional capacity At existing plants At new plants At existing plants
1–5 MW 3 3
5–10 MW 7 6
10–100 MW 50 36
Greater than 100 MW 207 133
Plant size total cost (billion $)
1–5 MW 2.2
5–10 MW 0.3
10–100 MW 12.7
Greater than 100 MW 15.8

Wind generators installed in 2023 by Census region

notes
top
Census region capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW)
Midwest 1,758
South 1,468
Northeast and West 2,114
Total included capacity At new plants At existing plants
Midwest 2,406 88
South 1,613 500
Northeast and West 1,386 0
Number of plants At new plants At existing plants
Midwest 15 1
South 7 1
Northeast and West 11 0
Number of generators At new plants At existing plants
Midwest 17 1
South 7 2
Northeast and West 11 0
Average new plant or additional capacity At existing plants At new plants At existing plants
Midwest 160 88
South 230 500
Northeast and West 126 0
Census region Total cost (billion $)
Midwest 4.4
South 3.1
Northeast and West 2.9

Wind generators installed in 2023 by plant size

notes
top
Plant size Capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW)
1–100 MW 2,260
100–200 MW 1,846
Greater than 200 MW 1,584
Total included capacity At new plants At existing plants
1–100 MW 479 88
100–200 MW 2,059 0
Greater than 200 MW 2,867 500
Number of plants At new plants At existing plants
1–100 MW 6 1
100–200 MW 15 0
Greater than 200 MW 12 1
Number of generators At new plants At existing plants
1–100 MW 8 1
100–200 MW 15 0
Greater than 200 MW 12 2
Average new plant or additional capacity At existing plants At new plants At existing plants
1–100 MW 80 88
100–200 MW 137 0
Greater than 200 MW 239 500
Plant size Total cost (billion $)
1–100 MW 1.3
100–200 MW 3.8
Greater than 200 MW 5.3

Wind generators installed in 2023 by wind class

top
Class capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW)
Class 1 and 2 1,704
Class 3 1,823
Total included capacity At new plants At existing plants
Class 1 and 2 3,708 588
Class 3 1,696 0
Number of plants At new plants At existing plants
Class 1 and 2 20 2
Class 3 13 0
Number of generators At new plants At existing plants
Class 1 and 2 20 3
Class 3 15 0
Average new plant or additional capacity At existing plants At new plants At existing plants
Class 1 and 2 185 294
Class 3 130 0
Plant size total cost (billion $)
Class 1 and 2 7.3
Class 3 3.1

Notes:
  • Data includes facilities with a total generator nameplate capacity of 1 megawatt (MW) or more. Solar data does not include distributed generation capacity.
  • Government grants, tax benefits, or other incentives are excluded from these costs.
  • Solar photovoltaic (PV) data are based on reported alternating current (AC) capacity and may differ from other cost and capacity estimates that use direct current (DC) ratings of PV panels.
  • Petroleum liquids includes distillate fuel oil, jet fuel, kerosene, residual fuel oil, and waste oil.
  • Biomass includes both liquid and gaseous biomass fuels.
  • Some generation technologies were excluded from this analysis to avoid disclosure of individual company data.
  • Average construction cost is based on the nameplate capacity weighted average cost per kilowatt of installed nameplate capacity.
  • Total capacity is the sum of the nameplate capacity of generators included in each group.
  • Average new capacity is based on the nameplate capacity of new plants or new additions of nameplate capacity to existing plants. New plants did not previously have operable units and are typically recently constructed. Existing plants have at least one previously operable generator and are not newly constructed.
  • Totals may not equal sum of components due to independent rounding.

Data source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-860, Annual Electric Generator Report