US Solar Power Continues To Grow As Storm Clouds Gather

The latest renewable energy report from Ember shows solar and wind in the US provided more electricity than coal in the first quarter of 2025. After generating 50.5% of US utility-supplied electricity in March, clean energy sources accounted for 50.8% of electricity in April, Ember data shows.

The Good News About Solar

Reuters added to the good news this week with a report that the upward trend for renewables in the US continued into April as the amount of electricity provided by methane-fired thermal generating stations took a nose dive. That trend continued into May, Reuters said. Increased output from solar farms — up 33% — and hydro — up 24% — helped lift total clean electricity output by 8% in April, according to industry tracking sources.

Data from LSEG shows that solar power output is up by 19% from the same dates in 2024, to a record of 883,000 megawatt-hours (MWh). Methane-fired electricity generation in April was down by 6% percent compared to April, 2024.

While increased demand for electricity is normal in the summer when more cooling equipment is pressed into service may increase the amount of electricity from thermal generation, “The current three month stretch of clean power dominance marks a new milestone in US energy transition efforts, and highlights a growing adeptness within generation networks at maximizing clean energy output while curtailing fossil fuel use,” Reuters reports.

And why is thermal generation from methane down? For exactly the reason you would expect. It is too expensive compared to the cost of solar power. The capitalist system at work. Duh! And why is the cost of methane so high? Because the greedheads in the industry think they can make more profit by liquefying it and selling it to other countries, leaving less of it available to US consumers, including utility companies. Supply and demand. The capitalist system at work. Double Duh!!

According to Reuters, Henry Hub natural gas futures in the US this year have averaged $3.70 per million British thermal units — 77% higher than over the same period in 2024. A third-grader could tell us higher prices incentivize consumers to seek cheaper alternatives. D’oh!

Storm Clouds Gather

Methane producers are none too happy about the decline in thermal generation. They paid huge bribes campaign contributions to get a bunch of climate change deniers elected. Now one of their own is head of the US Energy Department, where he is using his official position to browbeat others into using more fossil fuels. These people are not about to take any decrease in consumption lying down. There are profits at risk for industry executives and those profits must be protected from all challengers — especially solar.

Environment advocacy groups E2 and Atlas Public Policy reported this week that more than $14 billion in clean energy investments in the US have been canceled or delayed this year, thanks to the the anti-renewable religion that now dominates the Repugnican party. Those advocates say many companies are concerned their investments will be in jeopardy after the House of Representatives passed a tax bill that would gut clean energy credit. E2 said in its analysis of projects that the Big Beautiful Bill will eliminate virtually all clean energy tax credits included in the Inflation Reduction Act enacted in September of 2022. Furthermore, they say 10,000 clean energy jobs have already been lost because of those anti-clean energy policies.

One casualty of the hostility toward renewable energy is Sunnova, a rooftop solar company that offers customers solar panels and battery storage packages so they can be less dependent on the grid. The Biden administration provided it with a $3 billion loan guarantee, but changes in the market — particularly in California — have led to a decline in business.

According to OilPrice.com, the company notified the federal government recently that it no longer wanted to take advantage of the loan guarantee and so the government  promptly cancelled it. Sunnova had only made use of about $371 million from the loan guarantee package. The company is about to file for bankruptcy because higher interest rates and regulatory changes have made its business model unprofitable.

“Developers have built $145 billion in solar, wind and battery-storage projects since expanded federal tax credits were approved in 2022, while manufacturers have invested $73 billion in 94 factories that are now operating,” the Wall Street Journal wrote recently. All those investment are now in jeopardy thanks to the “big, beautiful” budget bill, OilPrice said.

Solar Is A Repugniucan Whipping Boy

The US solar industry is on dangerous ground. The federal government has recently slammed imported solar panels with enormous new tariffs after US manufacturers complained they could not compete with solar panels imported from several countries. Last year, Noah Kaufman at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University explained to Marketplace that on one hand, “We want cheap solar because it will lead to faster deployment of solar, so we’ll deploy clean energy faster.” On the other hand, the US government would like those solar panels and cells to be made in America.

But now the tax incentives that would encourage companies to invest in US factories are being eliminated. As we reported recently, the so-called budget reconciliation bill will eliminate most of the incentives for solar power in the US. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has issued a warning that the legislation “could jeopardize nearly 300 American solar and storage factories and lead to the loss of 145,000 GWh of solar generation by 2030 — more than the annual electricity consumption of Pennsylvania.” It claims up to “300,000 current and future American jobs [could] be lost, including 86,000 in solar manufacturing.”

And here’s the kicker: “Roughly 80% of all at-risk factories, jobs, and investments in the solar manufacturing sector are in states that voted for President Trump,” the SEIA claims. The Verge says clean energy companies in the wind, solar, and battery storage industries have made plans to “create or expand 250 manufacturing facilities since August 2022,” which is when the IRA legislation was passed. “If those projects are up and running by 2030, they would collectively create more than 575,000 jobs and contribute $86 billion annually to gross domestic product.” That’s according to a report published on May 20, 2025, by the American Clean Power Association.

As a result of this madness on the Potomac, Americans will have fewer solar panels at higher prices and less domestic production rather than more as Repugnincans persist in their desire to cut off their nose to spite their fact. The methane industry must be celebrating as their bribes campaign contributions look set to pay off bigly.