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Solar power has had a huge rise around the world in recent years, even accounting for the majority of the world’s new power capacity in 2024. That includes the United States. However, an interesting thing that has happened in the States in the past decade is “red states” have installed much more solar power. Whereas “blue states” had previously dominated new solar power installations, especially supported by strong incentives to get the market moving, in the past decade, Republican-dominated states have been installing more and more of the new solar power capacity.
Of course, a big part of this is California, which dominated US solar installations for years, but has had a scaling back as it has reached quite high solar penetration and net metering has been shredded in the state.
However, the other big part of it is simply that solar power has gotten much cheaper and is therefore getting installed more and more almost everywhere else — including the very populated states of Florida and Texas. “A decade ago, the state of California alone made up nearly half of total solar energy capacity in the United States. But the low cost and quick development times of solar power have made it a valuable resource for states looking to compete in new, energy-intensive industries like artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing,” the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) writes.
SEIA includes a great visualization of solar capacity over time on that page. Here’s a static version of the chart:
“80% of the solar manufacturing investments since August of 2022 have flowed to congressional districts represented by Republicans. Of the 20 states that installed the most solar capacity in 2024, 14 of them voted for President Trump last year, and there is now more solar capacity installed in Trump states than in states that voted for former Vice President Harris.”
SEIA points out that one thing that has happened in some red states is they’ve cut regulations that have blocked or hampered solar installations. “When conservative states cut red tape and allow solar to compete, utilities and developers choose the generation source that delivers the best product and that choice is overwhelmingly solar.” That is surely something we’d all like to see more of.
Aside from Texas and Florida, which I discussed yesterday, SEIA also highlights solar growth in Arkansas and Georgia. But, in general, solar power has been surging across a large number of states.
Economically, this solar surge has involved billions of dollars of investment and has supported hundreds of thousands of jobs. One would think any president and any political party would embrace solar power and its benefits. However … that’s not how things are going. President Donald Trump has a habit of criticizing solar power, diminishing its success and benefits, and working to slow solar power growth. He’s clearly more interested in supporting the fossil gas and coal industries of some of his buddies. Hopefully, he and his Republican colleagues in Congress and in the White House will see this research from SEIA and shift course a bit on solar power. One can dream….
In the meantime, whether you live in a red state or a blue state, keep installing solar!
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