Leveraging existing grid infrastructure for rapid US renewable and storage deployment

Rapid electricity demand growth, grid connection delays, and supply chain constraints create a serious risk of supply shortages and rising electricity costs in the next few years. This paper studies the strategy of adding colocated renewables and storage at existing power plants to take advantage of spare grid capacity. Using satellite imagery, we assess solar and wind potential near 3,890 U.S. fossil and renewable plants. By 2030, we find that existing fossil plants could host up to 597 GW of economically viable solar and wind without exceeding the existing interconnection capacity of each site. Existing renewable plants could host an additional 260 GW of firm capacity-comprising storage paired with added solar and wind capacity. These additions could accelerate clean energy deployment and enhance reliability and affordability, but realizing this potential is contingent upon regulatory reforms and coordinating the operational constraints of colocated resources.