PURPA-qualifying capacity increases, but it's still a small portion of added renewables

Between 2008 and 2017, more than 103 gigawatts (GW) of renewable generating capacity entered service in the United States, of which only 14 GW is certified to have qualifying facility small power producer status under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA). Utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) plants—those that have a capacity of one megawatt (MW) and higher—account for more than 8 GW of the added qualifying capacity, followed by onshore wind at 4 GW. During the past decade, PURPA-qualifying facilities have accounted for 31% of solar PV capacity, 5% of onshore wind capacity, and 6% of total electric generating capacity across all technologies in the United States. More »