United States Utility-Scale Solar PV Supply Curves and Hourly Generation

Contiguous United States data includes supply curves for approximately 60,000 potential PV sites, with metrics like capacity, generation, and levelized costs. Hourly generation profiles and a composite siting exclusion map support analysis for Reference and Limited development scenarios. The dataset was published by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in 2025 using 2023 technology cost parameters.

Use Cases

• Model levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and levelized cost of transmission (LCOT) trade-offs across 60,000 reV sites for site selection.
• Simulate grid integration using hourly generation profiles matched to site capacity for renewable energy forecasting.
• Analyze developable land area using the composite siting exclusion TIFF file under different siting assumptions.
• Compare solar power potential and cost metrics between Reference and Limited siting scenarios for policy planning.

Strengths

• Covers approximately 60,000 potential utility-scale PV sites across the contiguous United States.
• Includes multiple analytical components: supply curves, hourly profiles, and a spatial exclusion layer.
• Cost data is derived from the authoritative Annual Technology Baseline (ATB) 2023.
• Published in 2025 by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, ensuring recent methodology.

Limitations

• Data is modeled technical potential, not actual installed or operational project data.
• Analysis requires handling multiple file formats (H5, TIFF, CSV, IPYNB) and specialized tools.
• Geographic scope is limited to the contiguous United States, excluding Alaska and Hawaii.

Provenance

Source

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Department of Energy.

Collection Method

Modeled using the reV (Renewable Energy Potential) model and siting analysis, with cost parameters from ATB 2023.

Time Range

Analysis reflects 2024 technical potential based on 2023 technology costs.

Freshness

Data published in 2025, with an update recorded in April 2025.

Geography

Contiguous United States.