US solar power boomed in 2024 despite Trump’s threats
March 12, 2025
Solar power is winning the electricity generation race. A new report from the trade group Solar Energy Industries Association says that in 2024, two-thirds of new energy made in the U.S. came from the sun. That’s double the percentage solar claimed five years ago.
Solar is among the cheapest power sources to develop. Michael O’Boyle, senior director of electricity at the think tank Energy Innovation, said that’s partly thanks to government incentives.
But it’s also benefiting from a virtuous cycle: “Goods get cheaper, utilities and consumers buy more of it, then manufacturers can scale up manufacturing and make it even cheaper,” he said.
President Donald Trump has threatened to end solar incentives, but “there’s no scenario where solar isn’t growing pretty significantly,” said Rob Gramlich, president of the power consulting firm Grid Strategies.
Trump can set up road blocks that will slow solar’s growth, but utilities and homeowners decide whether to install a new power plant or rooftop solar, and “the costs are just too compelling,” Gramlich said. “It’s too cheap, too prevalent and too available for utilities to not want it and consumers to not choose it.”
This week, 21 house Republicans signed a letter asking to keep clean energy tax credits because they’re needed to help the U.S. become energy dominant.
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
Search
RECENT PRESS RELEASES
Related Post