New Report: “Virginia is the nation’s 9th largest solar market and one of the fastest-growing markets in the country with 7.5 GW of capacity”

Good news and bad news on solar power this morning. First, the good news, courtesy of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA):

• “The U.S. solar industry installed 43 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity in 2025, remaining the dominant source of new capacity added to the grid for the fifth consecutive year. Solar and energy storage represent 79% of new capacity installed in the first year of the Trump Administration.”
• “The report finds that the U.S. installed 43 gigawatts (GW) of new solar capacity in 2025. Solar and storage together represent 79% of all new [power generating] capacity installed in the first year of the Trump Admin. Despite the challenging year that 2025 was for the industry, solar and storage still far and away led other every other technology in grid additions.”
• “Additionally, 2025 was a banner year for American solar manufacturing. With the opening of a wafer manufacturing facility, the U.S. now has the capacity to produce every major component of the solar supply chain.”
• “We expect national installed capacity to increase 12% in 2026 compared to 2025, driven by steady growth in the top markets outside New York as well as the
  continued build-out of pipeline capacity in emerging markets, including New Mexico, Virginia, and Delaware. “
• “Virginia is the nation’s 9th largest solar market and one of the fastest-growing markets in the country with 7.5 GW of capacity — enough to power over 800,000 homes.”

So that’s all good news. The bad news? As the NY Times reports this morning, “U.S. Solar Installations Fell in 2025 as Trump Attacked Clean Energy (“More solar energy was added to U.S. grids than any other technology, but the amount installed fell by 14 percent, according to a new report”). The question is whether Trumps’ utterly insane, counterproductive attacks on solar power – clean, cheap, an inexhaustible “fuel” source (the sun!), NOT imported from the Persian Gulf, when it “spills” it’s simply known as a sunny day, etc! – will continue. On that front, there’s a bit of hope, given that “MAGA suddenly loves solar power” – for most of the same reasons (“GOP+ voters want America to have energy independence and for their electric bills to be affordable” and “they understand that utility solar energy is a key aspect in allowing that to happen”) that the rest of the U.S. public loves solar power.

Anyway, let’s crank up solar power – and energy efficiency, wind power, geothermal, etc. – and not be at the mercy of a narrow waterway (the Straits of Hormuz) in the Persian Gulf, not help enrich dictators like Vladimir Putin, etc. Oh, and also that little thing known as the *climate crisis*, which is being fueled (literally) by fossil fuels, and the greenhouse gas emissions (both CO2 and, particularly in the case of natural gas, methane). Finally, just to emphasize a key point: according to Lazard’s latest report on the “levelized cost of energy,”  “Unsubsidized Wind & Solar Lowest Cost Generation Sources for Last 10 Years,” while “Gas-Fired Generation Reaches 10-Year High LCOE.” Any further questions? Seriously, though, what about any of this do the Trump imbeciles (and more to the point, fossil fuel industry puppets) refuse to understand???

With that, here’s the press release from SEIA on is new report. Check it out!

***************************

Mar. 10, 2026

WASHINGTON, D.C. —  The U.S. solar industry installed 43 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity in 2025, remaining the dominant source of new capacity added to the grid for the fifth consecutive year. Solar and energy storage represent 79% of new capacity installed in the first year of the Trump Administration.

The U.S. Solar Market Insight 2025 Year in Review report released today by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie finds that over two-thirds of all solar capacity installed in 2025 was built in states won by President Trump. Texas, Indiana, Florida, Arizona, Ohio, Utah, and Arkansas rank among the top 10 states for solar additions in 2025.

Despite regulatory actions targeting clean energy and changing tax policy, the economics of solar remain strong as one of the few solutions that can quickly meet surging electricity demand driven by data center growth. The U.S. is expected to add 490 GW of new solar capacity by 2036, bringing cumulative installed capacity to nearly 770 GW.

“Solar and storage continue to dominate new capacity additions to the grid despite policy headwinds. American households and businesses of all sizes are demanding solar + storage because they deliver fast, affordable power to help meet rapidly rising demand,” said Darren Van’t Hof, Interim President and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association. “Washington must deliver policy certainty for the market to work and to keep pace with growing energy demands. Without this certainty, less solar will get built and Americans will pay the price with higher energy bills.”

“It’s clear that solar will continue to be the dominant source of new power capacity in the United States, even as gas generation continues to grow,” said Michelle Davis, head of solar at Wood Mackenzie and lead author of the report. “Strong demand growth combined with escalating costs of new gas plants will allow solar to remain competitive, even without tax credits.”

The report forecasts include scenarios showing how policy changes could impact the solar market. Final guidance on Foreign Entity of Concern provisions, the outcome of pending trade actions, and projects’ ability to secure permits will determine how much solar capacity ultimately comes online. In particular, the residential sector is facing headwinds due to changes in tax policy in 2025.

More restrictive policy will slow solar deployment, tightening overall power supply and putting upward pressure on electricity prices. Utility-scale solar is one the most cost-effective forms of new energy generation, and home solar and battery storage remains one of the few ways Americans can take control of their energy bills.

The first year of the Trump Administration was a monumental year for the domestic solar and storage manufacturing industry. With the opening of a wafer manufacturing facility in Q3, the United States now has the capacity to produce every major component of the solar supply chain. In 2025, cell production capacity continued to grow and module manufacturing increased more than 50% with 65.5 GW of capacity online.

Texas continued its dominance as the fastest-growing solar market, leading all states with 11 GW of new installations. In total, 11 states set new annual installation records in 2025, and 12 states added over 1 GW of new solar capacity. In particular, deployment in Indiana and Utah has skyrocketed, with Indiana deploying nearly 3 GW, up from 1.6 GW in 2024.

Learn more at seia.org/smi.

###