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Construction cost data for electric generators installed in 2024

Release Date: July 6, 2026 Next Release Date: September 2027 2024 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:
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Presented below are graphs and tables of the cost data for generators installed in 2024 based on data collected by the 2024 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 2025 in September 2027.

Read EIA's Electric Power Data Guide.

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

By selected sources and type:

Natural gas: technology
Solar PV: Census region top five states in capacity additions PV panel type and tracking system total capacity added at plant
Wind: grid region plant size wind class

Generators installed in 2024 by major energy source

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All plants by major energy source Capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW)
Solar 1,865
Battery storage 1,469
Wind 1,882
Natural gas 1,004
Petroleums liquids 1,066
Total capacity (MW) At new plants At existing plants
Solar 30,265 579
Battery storage 10,195 904
Wind 4,455 436
Natural gas 1,061 805
Petroleum liquids 5 28
Number of plants At new plants At existing plants
Solar 672 9
Battery storage 154 16
Wind 26 2
Natural gas 15 13
Petroleum liquids 1 16
All plants by major energy source Total cost (billion $)
Solar 57.5
Battery storage 16.3
Wind 9.2
Natural gas 1.9
Petroleum liquids 0.0
Number of generators by major energy source At new plants At existing plants
Solar 679 12
Battery storage 164 17
Wind 27 2
Natural gas 66 23
Petroleum liquids 2 20
Average new plants capacity or additional capacity At existing plants At new plants At existing plants
Solar 45 64
Battery storage 66 57
Wind 171 218
Natural gas 71 62
Petroleum liquids 5 2

Generators installed in 2024 by prime mover

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Capacity-weighted average cost per kilowatt of installed namepate capacity ($/kW) Capacity weighted-average cost ($/kW)
Photovoltaic 1,865
Energy storage, battery 1,469
Onshore wind turbine 1,882
Combustion turbine 841
Internal combustion engine 1,490
Total included capacity(MW) At new plants At existing plants
Photovoltaic 30,265 579
Energy storage, battery 10,195 904
Onshore wind turbine 4,455 436
Combustion turbine 699 719
Internal combustion engine 367 113
Number of generators At new plants At existing plants
Photovoltaic 679 12
Energy storage, battery 164 17
Onshore wind turbine 27 2
Combustion turbine 12 7
Internal combustion engine 56 36
Average generator capacity at new or existing plants At new plants At existing plants
Photovoltaic 45 48
Energy storage, battery 63 53
Onshore wind turbine 165 218
Combustion turbine 64 103
Internal combustion engine 7 3
Total construction cost total cost (billion $)
Photovoltaic 57.5
Energy storage, battery 16.3
Onshore wind turbine 9.2
Combustion turbine 1.2
Internal combustion engine 0.7

Generators installed in 2024 by Census region

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Census regions Capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW)
South 1,463
West 1,642
Midwest 2,764
Northeast 2,465
Total included capacity At new plants At existing plants
South 22,461 1,222
West 15,116 1,326
Midwest 6,751 186
Northeast 1,652 16
Number of plants At new plants At existing plants
South 274 14
West 172 21
Midwest 143 13
Northeast 231 7
Number of generators At new plants At existing plants
South 310 19
West 239 27
Midwest 148 19
Northeast 241 9
Average new plant or additional capacity At existing plants At new plants At existing plants
South 82 87
West 88 63
Midwest 47 14
Northeast 7 2
Census region Total cost (billion $)
South 34.7
West 27.0
Midwest 19.2
Northeast 4.1

Generators installed in 2024 by top five states in capacity additions

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State capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW)
Texas 1,260
California 1,759
Florida 1,556
Arizona 1,688
Nevada 1,368
Total included capacity At new plants At existing plants
Texas 13,078 1,137
California 6,575 293
Florida 3,154 76
Arizona 2,872 54
Nevada 1,530 665
Number of plants At new plants At existing plants
Texas 92 8
California 99 3
Florida 43 2
Arizona 12 3
Nevada 3 4
Number of generators At new plants At existing plants
Texas 125 10
California 133 3
Florida 43 4
Arizona 18 4
Nevada 8 6
Average new plant or additional capacity At existing plants At new plants At existing plants
Texas 142 142
California 66 98
Florida 73 38
Arizona 239 18
Nevada 510 166
State total cost (billion $)
Texas 17.9
California 12.1
Florida 5.0
Arizona 4.9
Nevada 3.0

Natural gas generators installed in 2024 by technology

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Natural gas plants by type Capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW)
Combustion turbine 841
Internal combustion engine 1,522
Total included capacity (MW) At new plants At existing plants
Combustion turbine 699 719
Internal combustion engine 362 86
Number of plants At new plants At existing plants
Combustion turbine 3 5
Internal combustion engine 12 8
Number of generators At new plants At existing plants
Combustion turbine 12 7
Internal combustion engine 54 16
Average new plants capacity or additional capacity At existing plants At new plants At existing plants
Combustion turbine 233 144
Internal combustion engine 30 11
Total construction cost Total cost (billion $)
Combustion turbine 1.2
Internal combustion engine 0.7

Solar PV generators installed in 2024 by Census region

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Census regions Capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW)
South 1,557
West 1,520
Midwest 2,899
Northeast 2,596
Total included capacity At new plants At existing plants
South 15,619 0
West 7,099 509
Midwest 6,058 70
Northeast 1,489 0
Number of plants At new plants At existing plants
South 193 0
West 118 4
Midwest 139 4
Northeast 222 1
Number of generators At new plants At existing plants
South 194 0
West 122 5
Midwest 140 6
Northeast 223 1
Average new plant or additional capacity At existing plants At new plants At existing plants
South 81 0
West 60 127
Midwest 44 17
Northeast 7 0
Region Total cost (billion $)
South 24.3
West 11.6
Midwest 17.8
Northeast 3.9

Solar PV generators installed in 2024 by top five states in capacity additions

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Census regions capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW)
Texas 1,331
Florida 1,561
California 1,569
Illinois 2,029
Ohio 1,680
Total included capacity At new plants At existing plants
Texas 7,388 0
Florida 3,154 0
California 2,807 0
Illinois 1,710 0
Ohio 1,358 67
Number of plants At new plants At existing plants
Texas 35 0
Florida 43 0
California 64 0
Illinois 64 1
Ohio 8 2
Number of generators At new plants At existing plants
Texas 35 0
Florida 43 0
California 66 0
Illinois 64 1
Ohio 8 2
Average new plant or additional capacity At existing plants At new plants At existing plants
Texas 211 0
Florida 73 0
California 44 0
Illinois 27 0
Ohio 170 34
State total cost (billion $)
Texas 9.8
Florida 4.9
California 4.4
Illinois 3.5
Ohio 2.4

Solar PV generators installed in 2024 by PV panel type and tracking system

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Solar PV plants by tracking system Capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW)
Crystalline silicon,
axis-based tracking		 1,903
Crystalline silicon,
fixed tilt		 2,529
Thin-film CdTe,
all types		 1,613
Other 1,851
Total included capacity At new plants At existing plants
Crystalline silicon,
axis-based tracking		 23,161 574
Crystalline silicon,
fixed tilt		 820 3
Thin-film CdTe,
all types		 5,772 0
Other 511 1
Number of plants At new plants At existing plants
Crystalline silicon,
axis-based tracking		 450 5
Crystalline silicon,
fixed tilt		 156 4
Thin-film CdTe,
all types		 46 0
Other 20 1
Number of generators At new plants At existing plants
Crystalline silicon,
axis-based tracking		 456 6
Crystalline silicon,
fixed tilt		 157 5
Thin-film CdTe,
all types		 46 0
Other 20 1
Average new plant or additional capacity At existing plants At new plants At existing plants
Crystalline silicon,
axis-based tracking		 51 115
Crystalline silicon,
fixed tilt		 5 1
Thin-film CdTe,
all types		 125 0
Other 26 1
Solar PV plants by tracking system Total cost (billion $)
Crystalline silicon,
axis-based tracking		 45.2
Crystalline silicon,
fixed tilt		 2.1
Thin-film CdTe,
all types		 9.3
Other 0.9

Solar PV generators installed in 2024 by total added capacity at plant

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Plant size Capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW)
1–5 MW 8,062
5–10 MW 2,550
10–100 MW 1,831
Greater than 100 MW 1,496
Total included capacity At new plants At existing plants
1–5 MW 1,317 8
5–10 MW 156 6
10–100 MW 7,378 65
Greater than 100 MW 21,414 500
Number of plants At new plants At existing plants
1–5 MW 425 5
5–10 MW 22 1
10–100 MW 124 1
Greater than 100 MW 101 2
Number of generators At new plants At existing plants
1–5 MW 427 7
5–10 MW 24 1
10–100 MW 124 1
Greater than 100 MW 104 3
Average new plant or additional capacity At existing plants At new plants At existing plants
1–5 MW 3 2
5–10 MW 7 6
10–100 MW 59 65
Greater than 100 MW 212 250
Plant size total cost (billion $)
1–5 MW 10.7
5–10 MW 0.4
10–100 MW 13.6
Greater than 100 MW 32.8

Wind generators installed in 2024 by grid region

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Grid region capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW)
Texas 1,944
East 1,941
West 1,736
Total included capacity At new plants At existing plants
Texas 1,585 350
East 1,516 0
West 1,355 86
Number of plants At new plants At existing plants
Texas 8 1
East 9 0
West 9 1
Number of generators At new plants At existing plants
Texas 9 1
East 9 0
West 9 1
Average new plant or additional capacity At existing plants At new plants At existing plants
Texas 198 350
East 168 0
West 151 86
Grid region Total cost (billion $)
Texas 3.8
East 2.9
West 2.5

Wind generators installed in 2024 by plant size

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Plant size Capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW)
1–100 MW 2,142
Greater than 100 MW 1,860
Total included capacity At new plants At existing plants
1–100 MW 292 86
Greater than 100 MW 4,163 350
Number of plants At new plants At existing plants
1–100 MW 5 1
Greater than 100 MW 21 1
Number of generators At new plants At existing plants
1–100 MW 5 1
Greater than 100 MW 22 1
Average new plant or additional capacity At existing plants At new plants At existing plants
1–100 MW 58 86
Greater than 100 MW 198 350
Plant size Total cost (billion $)
1–100 MW 0.8
Greater than 100 MW 8.4

Wind generators installed in 2024 by wind class

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Class capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW)
Class 1 and 2 1,779
Class 3 and 4 2,036
Total included capacity At new plants At existing plants
Class 1 and 2 2,845 86
Class 3 and 4 1,611 350
Number of plants At new plants At existing plants
Class 1 and 2 16 1
Class 3 and 4 10 1
Number of generators At new plants At existing plants
Class 1 and 2 16 1
Class 3 and 4 11 1
Average new plant or additional capacity At existing plants At new plants At existing plants
Class 1 and 2 178 86
Class 3 and 4 161 350
Plant size total cost (billion $)
Class 1 and 2 5.2
Class 3 and 4 4.0

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