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In news that will shock nobody, the US solar industry continues to add more electrons to the nation’s grid faster than any other domestic energy industry, despite facing two enormous obstacles. One is US President Donald Trump’s , which kicks both wind and solar power to the curb while uplifting practically every other resource. The other obstacle is a technology conundrum. The solar industry of today continues to rely heavily on silicon, a solar material first introduced for practical use in 1954. Oh wait…hold, please.
Solar Power Beats Coal And Natural Gas, Too
The latest report from the US Energy Information Agency demonstrates just how soundly Trump has failed to stop the renewable energy revolution, particularly in the case of solar power.Drawing from EIA statistics, the Solar Energy Industries Association notes that solar power now covers the equivalent of . That’s quite a feat for a relatively new energy resource, and a good part of the credit goes to a steep drop in the cost of silicon-based solar cells. Here in the US, have also made a significant contribution to nation’s utility-scale solar profile.
The SUN DAY Campaign has been summarizing in a convenient easy-to-read form since the 1990’s, and they pulled this notable quote from the EIA report of September 9:
As wind and utility-scale solar capacity continues to be added to the grid, we expect solar generation to grow by 21% in 2026 and by 18% in 2027, while wind generation grows 7% in 2026 and 5% in 2027.
Notably, those growth figures are for grid connected, utility-scale projects. According to the SUN DAY campaign, small-scale solar power adds another 2% to the calculations for each year (follow SUN DAY on BlueSky ).
As for coal and natural gas, don’t make me laugh. Despite the heroic, expensive, and Trump-pandering emergency orders cast around by willy-nilly by Energy Secretary Chris Wright in an effort to keep old coal power plants up and running past their expiration dates, EIA anticipates that demand for coal from US power plants will drop by 8% this year, and another 6% next year.
Renewables can’t take all the credit for pushing coal out of the power generation picture. EIA notes that natural gas is also contributing to the effort — incrementally, that is. In contrast to the rapid growth of solar power, gas is expected to contribute a measly 2% increase to the nation’s grid in 2026, dropping down to just 1% in 2027.
Why not more? Despite wishful thinking on the part of gas stakeholders, wishes are not horses. A years-long gas turbine manufacturing backlog is holding things up. Turbine manufacturers are scrambling to expand capacity, but the current rule of thumb is a delay of about five years. The climate crisis will come (and hopefully, go) by the time the turbine industry cranks up to speed.
Money Talks: The Solar Industry Gloves Are Off
Regardless of the strong showing by the solar industry, the political pushback is real, and now solar stakeholders are taking the fight to the ballot box, talking in a language that candidates can understand.One sign of activity surfaced earlier this year, when the CEO of Huck Capital, Steve McBee, announced the launch of , aimed at building (or rebuilding, as the case may be) into a political and cultural force.
While taking note of the fast-paced hum of industry activity in the 21st century, McBee also notes that the industry has “failed to build the political and cultural strength required to defend and accelerate our commercial position.”
You can say that again. “The next phase of the energy transition will require a more integrated approach that better connects industry, markets, policy makers, communicators, and consumers around the possibilities of a modern energy economy,” McBee wrote on LinkedIn back in May.
“This is where AMPED will live, operating upstream to build the systems where durable commercial, cultural, and political strength is ultimately built,” he added.
From A Trickle To A Flood
Another such effort emerged last summer, when renewable energy stakeholders bankrolled a successful effort to boot U.S. Representative Chip Roy out of the race for Texas Attorney General.“Money from renewable energy executives helped defeat conservative Rep. Chip Roy’s campaign for Texas attorney general — and now those donors are planning to deploy more cash against foes of wind and solar,” E&E News reported on June 3.
“A political action committee called the Invest in Tomorrow Coalition — which spent $1.7 million against Roy (R) to avenge his relentless push for ending — says supporters have pledged at least $15 million ahead of the midterm elections,” E&E elaborated.
“The goal here is, at the end of this election year, members of Congress, senators, governors, others, remember that if you act viciously against the industry, that there could be a couple million dollars dropped into your next race, and that could threaten your political future,” E&E continued, citing the executive chair of the PAC, Tom Matzzie, who is also CEO of the solar firm .
Solar Power Takes The Gloves Off
Earlier this week, word also broke that the new American Power Forward PAC is also on the move, with the goal of boosting solar-friendly state and local candidates into office. For its first target, the SEIA-affiliated group has chosen Nevada, where it will back the State Assembly District 21 incumbent, Democrat Elaine Marzola, for re-election.A longtime , Marzola faces the Republican challenger, Patsy Carvalho, in a close race. Close it may be, the Nevada Independent is among those indicating that money talks. “The district has a slim 2.6 percentage point Democratic voter-registration advantage over Republicans, but Marzola’s and leadership status place this district in the ‘lean Democrat'” category,” the Independent summarizes.
Next Steps For The US Solar Industry
Adding even more firepower to the case for solar power, silicon is gradually making room for the new solar materials of the 21st century, with much of the attention floating around perovskite.Perovskite refers to a class of synthetic optical materials based on the naturally occurring mineral perovskite, which was first introduced as a solar material in 2006. Much labwork has gone under the bridge since then, with the current focus of commercial activity settling on tandem solar cells that deploy silicon for durability and perovskite for a low-cost solar conversion efficiency boost (see more ).
The thin film CdTe branch of the solar industry also has the potential to help accelerate solar uptake in the US. CdTe (cadmium telluride) film is not commonly used elsewhere around the world. However it has been promoted by the US Department of Energy for domestic use due to its secure, reliable supply chain. The latest example is a $20 million funding pot in support of the Accelerator Consortium, which is presumably still in action towards the goal of increasing solar conversion efficiency to the 26% mark or more, while pushing down costs below $0.15 per watt.
Bringing up the rear is concentrating solar and other thermal technologies that put solar heating to work. Last year for thermal solar power R&D programs, among other cuts. However, depending on the mood of the US electorate during the 2026 election cycle, what goes down could soon come back up.
Photo: Solar power is outpacing all other forms of domestic energy in terms of additions to the US grid, and the best is yet to come as new solar materials emerge on the market (perovskite solar cell courtesy of US Department of Energy).
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