The U.S. installed around 4.2 GW of natural gas capacity last year from January through November, more than double the 1.9 GW installed in the same period in 2024, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
FERC’s latest Energy Infrastructure Update shows solar additions dropped in that period year over year, from 27.6 GW of new capacity to 25.4 GW, while new installed wind capacity rose from around 3.2 GW to 5.5 GW.
However, in November alone, solar added more than 2.8 GW of capacity, while natural gas added 283 MW. No new nuclear generation came online in January to November 2025.
That increase in new solar reflects the race developers are in to bring solar projects online after the One Big Beautiful Bill Act curtailed the longevity of the Inflation Reduction Act’s tax credits for renewables.
Natural gas currently makes up 42% of installed electric-generating capacity in the U.S., FERC said, with wind sitting at 11.9% and solar at 12%.
FERC authorized several natural gas infrastructure projects in November that focus on supporting power generation, like National Fuel’s Shippingport Lateral Project which “would provide up to 205 MMcf/d of firm transportation capacity for a power generator,” the update states, and Florida Gas’ South Central Louisiana Project, which will “provide up to 75 MMcf/d of transportation capacity to power generators and LDCs in the Southeast.”
Florida Gas is also requesting authorization for its South Central Alabama Project, which “would provide up to 145 MMcf/d of firm transportation capacity for electric generators and [local distribution companies] in the region,” FERC said.
The update forecasts that significant coal retirements will continue from December 2025 through November 2028, with 19.7 GW set to retire in that period, FERC said. During that period 35 MW of new coal is expected to be installed.
Natural gas retirements are anticipated to total more than 12.7 GW in the same time frame, but proposed natural gas projects for that period total 44.9 GW, FERC said. Proposed solar installations for the same period total 226 GW, with 59.8 GW of new wind proposed.
FERC only considers 22.7 GW of the proposed natural gas projects to be “high probability additions,” it said. Of the solar projects, it called 86.5 GW high-probability additions, and 19.9 GW of wind are as well.
FERC noted that installations of 500-kV transmission lines fell from 2024 to 2025, with 554 miles of those lines installed between January and November 2024 and only 1.8 miles installed in the same period in 2025.
Installations of 345-kV lines increased slightly year over year, from 352.1 miles to 370.8 miles, while the installation of lines 230-kV and under also fell, going from 791.3 miles added in that period in 2024 to 102.4 miles in 2025.
