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Released May 05, 2025 | SUGAR LAND
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Written by Jesse Broehl for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--There were more than 62,000 megawatts (MW) of power plants in various stages of construction in the U.S. as of the end of first-quarter 2025. Solar power is being deployed at a remarkable pace, representing 81% market share of construction starts in the quarter.
However, solar drops to 56% market share when all power plants under construction are counted. Natural gas power plants fill most of the gap with 22% market share as the go-to resource for baseload power in the U.S.
These are among the high-level findings as IIR Energy analyzes aggregate data of all power plants and projects in its database. This article provides data on power plants that are under construction in the U.S. and provides the view in two time frames:
Brief Up-Front Methodology and Related Data Articles
Unless otherwise noted, these analyses are of grid-connected power plants. Therefore, it excludes behind-the-meter power and back-up generation, the latter of which is growing quickly as large data centers are built. Industrial Info will report separately on power infrastructure at data centers and battery-storage plants.
In a companion article, Industrial Info is providing data for all power plants newly commissioned in the first quarter. For more information, see April 8, 2025, article - IIR Energy: New Power Plant Capacity Commissioned in Q1 2025.
Compared with plants that went online in the first quarter, this analysis provides a much wider view looking from first-quarter 2025 and into the near future, since all of these power plants have multi-year construction phases. Some plants will be commissioned soon in the second quarter of this year, but most will go online in 2026, while many will be pushed into 2027 and 2028--particularly some of the larger natural gas plants.
As such, the dataset is very large; 62,049 MW, represented by 467 plants, are under construction (in various stages) in the U.S., according to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database.
U.S. Power Plants That Started Construction in First-Quarter 2025
Looking only at what power plants started construction in the first quarter of this year offers a narrow view of power plants by type and total megawatts (MW).
Solar power, which has been growing especially fast in recent years, represents an 81% market share from 3,341 MW. Wind power follows with 19% market share from 808 MW. Growth in solar power is driven partly by federal tax incentives, but its cost--with or without incentives--is increasingly competitive, depending on the location.
In this quarter no natural gas projects started construction, although gas is well represented when the data is widened to include all projects under construction as of the end of the first quarter, as discussed further below.
Click on the image at right for graphs showing the solar and wind breakdown for projects that began construction in first-quarter 2025, and a breakdown by owner.
The large size of some of the projects started in the quarter is quite notable. Here is a sample of the largest projects in descending order of size, all of which are solar, except for a wind project in Arizona:
When the data aperture is widened to encompass all projects under construction as of the end of first-quarter 2025, the amount, as to be expected, is very large. Specific projects are not described here since they are too numerous to narrow into specific selections. Details of individual plants, including large capital expenditure items, are captured in IIR's database (large capital expenditure packages and major contractors).
The aggregate data over the long construction window tell a more meaningful story of power plant market shares by industry type, with a broader range under construction. The proportions represent what type of power plants are most favorable by the market.
Overall, under-construction data show solar leading with 56% market share from 32,634 MW of projects. Natural gas power plants also are showing significant construction activity with 12,600 MW under construction, representing 22% share. Wind power follows with a close third behind gas with 19% market share from 11,201 MW.
Click on the image at right for a graph showing power plants under construction by fuel type.
Although there is renewed interest--particularly by the Trump administration--to revive the coal sector, there are no new coal plants under construction in the U.S. However, many coal plants that had been planned for retirement are delaying their retirements until later. Some coal plants are converting fully to natural gas-fired generation or extending operational lifespans with co-firing both fuels, if they have the capability.
No nuclear plants are under construction, although there is interest and efforts to revive existing nuclear power plants or even build new capacity--especially as power demand is on track to outpace available generation.
Other power plants under construction noted in this data are minimal and noted on the chart (combined cycle waste heat, landfill gas, geothermal etc.)
Click on the image at right for a graph breaking down power plants under construction by state.
One immediate takeaway is that Texas far exceeds all other states for total capacity under construction, with nearly 13 GW. The key reasons are that Texas has a large and fast-growing energy demand and favorable energy resources, as well as permissive regulation to facilitate power plant development.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
However, solar drops to 56% market share when all power plants under construction are counted. Natural gas power plants fill most of the gap with 22% market share as the go-to resource for baseload power in the U.S.
These are among the high-level findings as IIR Energy analyzes aggregate data of all power plants and projects in its database. This article provides data on power plants that are under construction in the U.S. and provides the view in two time frames:
- U.S. power plants that started construction in first-quarter 2025
- U.S. power plants that are under construction as of the end of the quarter.
Brief Up-Front Methodology and Related Data Articles
Unless otherwise noted, these analyses are of grid-connected power plants. Therefore, it excludes behind-the-meter power and back-up generation, the latter of which is growing quickly as large data centers are built. Industrial Info will report separately on power infrastructure at data centers and battery-storage plants.
In a companion article, Industrial Info is providing data for all power plants newly commissioned in the first quarter. For more information, see April 8, 2025, article - IIR Energy: New Power Plant Capacity Commissioned in Q1 2025.
Compared with plants that went online in the first quarter, this analysis provides a much wider view looking from first-quarter 2025 and into the near future, since all of these power plants have multi-year construction phases. Some plants will be commissioned soon in the second quarter of this year, but most will go online in 2026, while many will be pushed into 2027 and 2028--particularly some of the larger natural gas plants.
As such, the dataset is very large; 62,049 MW, represented by 467 plants, are under construction (in various stages) in the U.S., according to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database.
U.S. Power Plants That Started Construction in First-Quarter 2025
Looking only at what power plants started construction in the first quarter of this year offers a narrow view of power plants by type and total megawatts (MW).
Solar power, which has been growing especially fast in recent years, represents an 81% market share from 3,341 MW. Wind power follows with 19% market share from 808 MW. Growth in solar power is driven partly by federal tax incentives, but its cost--with or without incentives--is increasingly competitive, depending on the location.
In this quarter no natural gas projects started construction, although gas is well represented when the data is widened to include all projects under construction as of the end of the first quarter, as discussed further below.
The large size of some of the projects started in the quarter is quite notable. Here is a sample of the largest projects in descending order of size, all of which are solar, except for a wind project in Arizona:
- The top MW by owner is Clean Air Generation/Doral LLC (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) with the Mammoth Central and Mammoth South projects, at 600 MW and 300 MW, respectively. Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Power Database can click here for the project reports.
- Invenergy LLC (Chicago, Illinois) started building its two-phase Hashknife 575-MW solar plant in Arizona. Click here for the related project reports.
- Greenbacker (New York, New York) started building its 500-MW Cider Solar plant in Western New York. Click here for the project report.
- NV Energy (Las Vegas, Nevada) (Berkshire Hathaway Inc.) started building its 400-MW Sierra 01 solar plant in Nevada. Click here for the project report.
- Ranger Power (Chicago, Illinois) started its 250-MW "Show Me State" solar project in Missouri. Click here for the project report.
- One large wind project is noted among the larger plants breaking ground: AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) (Arlington, Virginia) began construction on its 401-MW West Camp Wind Farm in Arizona. It will install 89 units of Vestas' V150-4.5 turbines (150-meter rotor diameter, 4.5-MW turbines). Click here for the project report.
When the data aperture is widened to encompass all projects under construction as of the end of first-quarter 2025, the amount, as to be expected, is very large. Specific projects are not described here since they are too numerous to narrow into specific selections. Details of individual plants, including large capital expenditure items, are captured in IIR's database (large capital expenditure packages and major contractors).
The aggregate data over the long construction window tell a more meaningful story of power plant market shares by industry type, with a broader range under construction. The proportions represent what type of power plants are most favorable by the market.
Overall, under-construction data show solar leading with 56% market share from 32,634 MW of projects. Natural gas power plants also are showing significant construction activity with 12,600 MW under construction, representing 22% share. Wind power follows with a close third behind gas with 19% market share from 11,201 MW.
Although there is renewed interest--particularly by the Trump administration--to revive the coal sector, there are no new coal plants under construction in the U.S. However, many coal plants that had been planned for retirement are delaying their retirements until later. Some coal plants are converting fully to natural gas-fired generation or extending operational lifespans with co-firing both fuels, if they have the capability.
No nuclear plants are under construction, although there is interest and efforts to revive existing nuclear power plants or even build new capacity--especially as power demand is on track to outpace available generation.
Other power plants under construction noted in this data are minimal and noted on the chart (combined cycle waste heat, landfill gas, geothermal etc.)
One immediate takeaway is that Texas far exceeds all other states for total capacity under construction, with nearly 13 GW. The key reasons are that Texas has a large and fast-growing energy demand and favorable energy resources, as well as permissive regulation to facilitate power plant development.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
