The city of Dallas has been gradually installing solar panels on its buildings, but changes in federal renewable energy policies and tariffs might slow its momentum, officials say.

In line with Dallas’ goal of utilizing and generating renewable energy, solar panels have been installed on 11 city-owned buildings. Dallas began installing panels on select buildings over 10 years ago, with some of the systems dating back to 2013.

Around 2,000 solar panels have been installed on various buildings, including libraries, recreation centers, police stations and fire stations.

City officials note that federal programs that previously supported municipal solar have ended or been scaled back.

“The funding that was available isn’t as available as it was previously… we’re having to look at ways we can pivot to different ideas, and perhaps looking at private funding,” said Angela Hodges, the city’s new director of environmental quality and sustainability.

Solar project costs have also risen due to tariffs and supply constraints.

“Solar projects are getting more expensive because the cost of components have increased and some of them just aren’t as available as they used to be,” Hodges added.

Advocates say the city is heading in the right direction but needs to be more aggressive. The city is still using one remaining federal grant, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant, worth about $1.1 million, to install high-efficiency lighting and controls in five buildings.

President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, a massive tax and spending package he signed into law earlier this year, ended subsidies for wind and solar energy projects years earlier than planned.

Trump said in a post on Truth Social in August, “Any State that has built and relied on WINDMILLS and SOLAR for power are seeing RECORD BREAKING INCREASES IN ELECTRICITY AND ENERGY COSTS. THE SCAM OF THE CENTURY! We will not approve wind or farmer destroying Solar. The days of stupidity are over in the USA!!! MAGA.”

The administration also terminated the $7 billion grant program “Solar for All,” which was intended to provide solar panels and batteries to low-income neighborhoods and create jobs by training workers to install the technology.

Lee Zeldin, who was appointed by Trump to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, called the program a “boondoggle” on X.

“The bottom line is this: EPA no longer has the statutory authority to administer the program or the appropriated funds to keep this boondoggle alive,″ Zeldin wrote on X. “Today, the Trump EPA is announcing that we are ending Solar for All for good, saving US taxpayers ANOTHER $7 BILLION!”

Developers, manufacturers and analysts predicted the legislation would reduce renewable energy installations over the next decade, eliminate investments and jobs in the clean energy manufacturing sector and exacerbate an impending shortage of U.S. power supplies.

Dallas approach

Officials say the more recent installations are directly tied to Dallas’ Comprehensive Environmental and Climate Action Plan. The Dallas City Council unanimously approved the 30-year plan that guides the city’s strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, transitioning to renewable energy and preparing for climate impacts.

“The reasoning was first and foremost to meet the city’s CECAP goals for energy efficiency across city facilities, and to move toward a green building mindset,” said Brian Thompson, assistant director of facilities and real estate management.

Thompson said improvements in solar monitoring technology now allow the city to track performance more accurately than with older systems.

For the 2025 fiscal year, the city allocated a $500,000 boost for maintenance and repairs on the city’s rooftop solar panels.

How solar panels work

Solar panels, also known as photovoltaic cells, convert sunlight directly into electricity. When sunlight hits the panel, it excites electrons, creating an electrical current.

One key advantage is that solar panels do not require fuel to operate and do not produce emissions, making them an environmentally friendly energy source. After installation, they harvest electricity from the sun until their useful lifespan ends, which for many panels can be 20 years or more.

Which buildings get panels

Some of the city-owned buildings with solar panels installed include the Vickery Meadow Branch Library, the West Dallas Branch Library, the Fretz Park Recreation Center, the Kiest Park Recreation Center, the North Central Police Station and a couple of fire stations.

Not all city buildings qualify for solar installations, said Srinivas Vemuri, the city’s superintendent of energy management.

The roof must be less than four or five years old. Older buildings often require electrical upgrades to meet code before solar panels can be installed.

Additionally, solar installations must offset at least 25% of the building’s energy use. The city prioritizes libraries, recreation centers and other public facilities.

“We want to have meaningful energy savings, not just for the sake of having solar,” Vemuri said.

The city also ensures that solar projects are distributed evenly across all council districts, rather than concentrated in a few areas.

Energy savings

Measuring cost savings is not straightforward. Thompson said fluctuating electricity rates make it challenging to compare year-over-year utility bills, but energy use in buildings with solar panels has declined significantly.

The city has observed about a 37% reduction in energy usage for facilities with solar panels compared to those without.

Electrical rates and costs vary across city buildings, making it difficult to provide a simple, one-to-one financial savings metric. Energy savings are therefore usually considered as reductions in consumption rather than strictly in monetary terms.

Thompson provided an example. At the West Dallas Branch Library, energy consumption dropped from roughly 354,000 kilowatt hours in 2019 to approximately 220,000 kWh in 2024 after solar installation.

Financially, this amounted to an estimated $12,000 in annual savings at that site, given the variable rates over those years, said Thompson. Any excess solar energy generated can be fed back into the grid, further reducing overall consumption.

Two new recreation centers, Bachman and Beckley-Saner, are next in line.

The Bachman Recreation Center project is in design and awaiting permits, with completion expected in summer 2026.

The Beckley-Saner installation is scheduled for council approval in January, with an estimated completion date in early fall 2026.

Other Texas cities

Ian Seamans, a City Hall advocate with Environment Texas, says Dallas is progressing, but cities with municipal electric utilities, like Austin, San Antonio and Denton, have an advantage.

“Those cities still have municipal electric utilities, and all of their incentives are aligned in one place. That makes renewables make a lot more sense,” he said.

San Antonio, for example, plans to install rooftop solar on over 40 municipal buildings in the coming years.

Dallas, by contrast, operates in a deregulated market involving four different players: the city, the retail electricity provider, the transmission company (Oncor) and the generation companies.

Seamans suggested the next major opportunity is pairing solar with on-site batteries, especially for critical city infrastructure.

“Batteries will make solar panels make a lot more sense,” he said, adding, “You can use excess production at night or during off-periods.”

Both city officials and advocates agree that residents need clearer, more accessible information about Dallas’ solar portfolio.

Hodges said improving public-facing communication is a priority. She hopes to update the Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability’s website with easier-to-use solar resources.

“We have a lot of good information, but we haven’t always been great about communicating that to the general public,” Hodges said.

Seamans also called for public dashboards showing real-time solar generation at city facilities.

“It would be great if we had monitors on all of the solar panels, so the public can see how much power is being generated,” Seamans said.

Looking ahead

Despite funding shifts and rising costs, Dallas officials say their commitment to renewable energy remains intact.

Future projects will depend on funding availability, building suitability and thorough cost-benefit analysis.

“Solar was never seen as a silver bullet; it’s one component of the many ways we can improve energy efficiency and find greenhouse gas savings,” Hodges said.