More Utilities, Governments, and Private Citizens Are Adopting Solar Than Ever Before

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Residential rooftop photovoltaic (PV) installations have tripled over the past ten years. With so many organizations and individuals adopting solar, it is now growing faster than any power source in history — the industry is constructing a gigawatt’s worth of solar panels every 15 hours. That’s more or less what one coal-fired plant generates.

Thank you, solar! Because of its mass acceptance as a viable energy solution, solar has helped global emissions to track below former worst-case assumptions. In fact, experts say solar will become the world’s single largest source of electricity in the next six years.

We are very interested in solar energy here at CleanTechnica. Over the last year we asked readers to answer a series of survey questions; their responses became the foundation for a newly released report, which is now available for purchase. We decided to conduct the survey because we were aware that detailed data on consumer perceptions about rooftop solar installations and lifestyles were underreported, especially observations about rooftop solar attitudes and installation comfort levels.

Our results indicate that nearly all consumers who have installed rooftop solar PV systems have a high satisfaction rate with their systems. A minority of respondents, many of whom do not have rooftop solar installations, did express concerns about solar marketing. These individuals revealed a small but important pattern in which some solar companies offered mixed messages and a bit of unwarranted optimism about post-installation cost benefits.

The overall positive reactions to residential solar installations point to a continued rising rooftop solar adoption rate for home and business owners. There is also room to improve, as a continually evolving solar marketplace will be measured by statistically significant customer feedback — installers across all sizes and regions must provide reliable pre-installation advice that leads to a promised return on investment (ROI). Cutting solar costs through improved design tools, automation, and connected workflows can reduce expenses while creating a more reliable and transparent experience for customers, says Chris Hopper, co-founder of Aurora Solar.

Why does Solar have such a Positive Upward Trajectory?

One of the biggest myths about solar is that it isn’t reliable because the sun only shines during the daytime. Most people are blissfully unaware that, while the sun is shining, a lot of the electricity that is generated is stored in batteries. It’s called time shifting — solar installations can generate electricity at 1 pm, for example, and use it at 8 pm after the sun sets.

Solar is so reliable that the US energy storage industry installed 9.7 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of new capacity in the first quarter of 2026, the strongest first quarter in the sector’s history. According to the US Energy Storage Market Outlook Q2 2026 released this week by the Solar Energy Industries Association and Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, energy storage installations in Q1 were up 32% year-over-year — despite actions in Washington targeting clean energy. In Q1, 7.8 GWh of US utility-scale storage, 648 MWh of commercial and industrial (C&I) storage, and 515 MWh of residential storage were installed.

Take the example of Texas. Solar generation is expected to reach 78 billion kilowatthours (BkWh) in 2026 in the electricity grid operated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) compared with 60 BkWh for coal.

Looking ahead to 2027, 11.8 BkWh of additional solar capacity is expected to come online. Researchers have reduced worst case scenarios for global emissions in part because of solar’s rising impact. They took into account the world’s future population, energy use, energy sources, investment in climate change adaptation and mitigation, climate policies, and collaboration between nations. Solar is a winning outcome.

Solar’s rising prominence is due to a major supply glut, technology advances, and falling prices, according to BloombergNEF. Solar is expected to become the world’s largest generator of electricity by 2032, driven by massive overcapacity and falling prices.

And there’s even more good news! As solar costs continue on a downward plunge, they position a fossil fuel power increasingly out of reach. Yay!

Moreover, with the US/ Israel war on Iran continuing to rage and to destabilize energy markets around the world, renewable energy is becoming more and more appealing. Far more so than in previous energy crises, the BloombergNEF press release states, “Many countries that are dependent on fossil fuels are able to reduce their economic exposure to energy commodity imports by adopting low-carbon technologies.” Yes, energy security concerns may prompt some coal-rich nations to re-emphasize coal use, but they add that “fuel cannot compete on cost over the long term, slipping to half of current levels of power generation use by 2050.”

Lots of progress is being made. As our intrepid CleanTechnica colleague Tina Casey reports, the loss of the federal tax credit has slowed the pace of solar adoption, but the momentum continues. Though some installers have fallen by the wayside, others are scrambling to adjust their business models. In fact, BloombergNEF predicts the transition to solar will occur due to financial reasons, and why not? Solar is the most cost effective energy solution of all.

Solar Innovations Keep Appearing and Give Us Even More Hope

Balcony solar in the US is slowly overcoming two hurdles: the absence of state-based enabling legislation for devices that inject electricity into a household system without the need for authorization from their utility company and property owner restrictions on tenants, and homeowner association restrictions on members. The Illinois state legislature, however, is moving part both barriers with a proposal to remove the state’s existing pre-authorization requirement and replace it with a simple form notifying the utility company of the installation. The bill would also prohibit any other fees or installation expenses, and it would prevent property owners and homeowner associations from raising unreasonable obstacles of their own.

Earlier this spring, CleanTechnica learned that a San Diego church installed a 55 kW solar system and realized substantial savings as a result. The installation was managed by Watthub, a commercial solar developer from Scottsdale, Arizona, that arranged a power purchase agreement for the Canyons Church. Now most of its electrical needs are provided by the solar system. As local utility rates continue their upward climb, the savings from the PPA are going further than originally estimated.

Scientists at UC Santa Barbara have created a remarkable new material that works like a “rechargeable solar battery,” storing sunlight inside tiny molecules and releasing it later as heat — even long after the sun goes down. Inspired by reversible changes found in DNA and photochromic sunglasses, the system captures solar energy without relying on bulky batteries or the electrical grid. The molecule can hold energy for years and packs more energy per kilogram than lithium-ion batteries.

SolarEdge is actively reshoring critical manufacturing to the US, with production facilities in Florida, Texas, and Utah focused on key components such as inverters and circuit boards.

In Spain and Italy, developers have started building what are called “hybrid renewable power plants.” Solar panels are installed alongside batteries so that higher evening energy costs are tapped.

Domestic solar energy plays an important role in national economy and security. Accelerating solar manufacturing increases generating capacity and strengthens critical supply chains — the materials used in solar panels and projects are also used in other defense critical industries that need secure supply chains.

Resources

“Molecular solar thermal energy storage in Dewar pyrimidone beyond 1.6 megajoules per kilogram.” Han P. Q., et al. Science. February 12, 2026.

“NEF’s New Energy Outlook 2026: Transition to newer technologies, expanded electrification to strengthen nations’ energy security.” BloombergNEF. May 19, 2026.

“Report: US adds 10 GWh of new energy storage capacity in first quarter, marking largest Q1 on record.” Solar Energy Industry Association. May 21, 2026.

“Solar, storage, and securing America’s electric grid.” SEIA. May 21, 2026.

“Worst-case global warming projection cut by 1°C as cheap solar and wind slash emissions.” Angela Symons. EuroNews. May 19, 2026.