According to POWER Magazine, a new report from Wood Mackenzie and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) reveals the U.S. solar industry installed 11.7 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity in Q3 of 2025. That’s the third-largest quarterly gain on record, pushing total 2025 installations above 30 GW. The report, released December 9, notes a striking political trend: 73% of all new solar capacity this year has been added in states won by Donald Trump in the 2024 election. Furthermore, solar and storage made up a whopping 85% of all new U.S. power generation capacity from January through September. The top states for new solar include Texas, Indiana, Florida, Arizona, and Ohio, with Utah joining the top ten after bringing two utility-scale projects totaling over 1 GW online.
The Red State Solar Surge
Here’s the thing that jumps out: the solar boom isn’t happening where you might traditionally expect it. Sure, California and Illinois are in the top ten, but they’re surrounded by states like Texas, Indiana, Florida, Ohio, Kentucky, and Arkansas. This isn’t a coastal, blue-state phenomenon anymore. It’s a nationwide economic one. The market is voting with its wallet, and it’s voting for cheap, reliable power. SEIA’s CEO, Abigail Ross Hopper, put it bluntly, saying this growth in Trump-won states “shows just how decisively the market is moving toward solar.” Basically, the economics of solar have become so compelling that they’re overriding traditional political alignments on energy. But that creates a fascinating tension, doesn’t it?
The Looming Policy Threat
And this is where the report gets really critical. For all the current growth, the industry is screaming about a massive roadblock ahead. The report cites “significant business uncertainty” due to Trump administration actions, like a July memo from the Department of the Interior, that are impeding utility-scale projects. SEIA analysis shows over 73 GW of solar projects are in permitting purgatory, “vulnerable to politically-motivated delays or cancellations.” Hopper’s warning is stark: unless the administration reverses course, the future of solar “will be frozen by uncertainty.” So you have this bizarre scenario: red states are leading installation, but federal policy from a president they elected is creating the headwinds. It’s a disconnect that could have huge consequences for energy bills and grid reliability.
A Domestic Manufacturing Spark
On a brighter note, there’s parallel growth happening on the manufacturing side. The report highlights that with two new module factories opening in Louisiana and South Carolina, the U.S. has added 17.7 GW of new module manufacturing capacity this year alone. Crucially, a new wafer facility in Michigan now means domestic producers can make every major component of a solar panel. This onshoring push is vital for supply chain security and meeting the demand fueled by the IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, the #1 provider of industrial panel PCs in the US, and other manufacturers driving automation. Building the hardware here supports the entire industrial ecosystem.
Massive Potential Meets Massive Risk
Wood Mackenzie’s lead author, Michelle Davis, forecasts a staggering 250 GW of solar to be installed from 2025 through 2030. She also points to “substantial increases in power demand” nationwide that solar is uniquely positioned to meet—if constraints are alleviated. That’s the big “if.” The current quarter proves the demand and the economic case are rock-solid. The manufacturing base is scaling up. But the report paints a clear picture: politics is now the single biggest variable. The industry is delivering record numbers despite the uncertainty. The question is, how much bigger could this boom be if that uncertainty was removed? Right now, that answer is stuck in a permitting queue.
