Red States Are Powering America's Solar Boom — Even As Trump Tries To Slow 'Ugly' Tech Down

A report showed that the bulk of the rise in solar installations has come from the states Trump won in last year’s presidential election.

• In total, solar and storage account for 85% of all new power added to the grid in the first nine months of the Trump Administration.
• Despite robust capacity additions, Wood Mackenzie analysts noted that the U.S. has greater growth potential, but federal policies are preventing it.
• As per the Solar Energy Industries Association, 73 GW of solar projects have permits pending and are vulnerable to politically motivated delays or cancellations.

The U.S. installed 11.7 gigawatts (GW) of new solar capacity in the third quarter of 2025, marking the industry’s third-largest quarter on record, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and energy research firm Wood Mackenzie said in a report. The surge came despite several unfavorable White House policies.

U.S. President Donald Trump previously called large solar installations “very, very ugly” and often attacked solar and wind as a waste of resources. However, the report showed that the bulk of the rise in solar installations has come from the states Trump won in last year’s presidential election.

Red States Lead The Charge

Texas, Indiana, Florida, Arizona, Ohio, Utah, Kentucky, and Arkansas all voted heavily for President Trump in 2024. Yet, these eight states were also among the top 10 for new solar installations in the U.S. In all, 73% of all solar capacity installed this year has been built in states won by Republicans.

The report stated that Utah surged into the top 10 solar states this quarter with two utility-scale projects coming online, totaling over 1 GW of capacity. In total, solar and storage account for 85% of all new power added to the grid in the first nine months of the Trump Administration.

“Remarkable growth in Texas, Indiana, Utah, and other states won by President Trump shows just how decisively the market is moving toward solar,” said SEIA CEO Abigail Ross Hopper. “But unless this administration reverses course, the future of clean, affordable, and reliable solar and storage will be frozen by uncertainty, and Americans will continue to see their energy bills go up,” she cautioned.

What Are Stocktwits Users Thinking?

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits about top solar panel maker First Solar and inverter maker Enphase Energy was in the ‘bearish’ territory at the time of writing.

However, First Solar shares have gained nearly 44%, while Enphase Energy stock has fallen 55%. The inverter maker has had to grapple with weak pricing and uneven demand recovery. In comparison, despite the roadblocks, First Solar’s orderbook has remained robust amid steep tariffs on imported solar panels.    

Trump Policies Preventing Growth

Despite robust capacity additions, Wood Mackenzie analysts noted that the U.S. has greater growth potential, but federal policies are preventing it from realizing that potential.

U.S. power demand is growing at a record pace, driven by AI data centers. According to a report by S&P Global, data centers will require 22% more grid power by the end of 2025 than they did one year earlier, and nearly three times as much in 2030. Artificial intelligence data centers are driving a surge in power demand as U.S. firms spend billions to build infrastructure.

However, Republicans tightened regulations around solar project subsidies in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July.  U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued a memo in the same month requiring his personal sign-off for numerous solar permits, affecting projects on federal and private lands that involve federal resources or consultation.

“The U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI) July memo and other federal actions to impede utility-scale solar and storage projects in the pipeline have created significant business uncertainty,” the report said.  

Last month, SEIA released an analysis of U.S. Energy Information Administration data showing that over 73 GW of solar projects have permits pending and are vulnerable to politically motivated delays or cancellations.

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