Solar power expanded rapidly in the United States in 2025, growing by more than 35 percent compared with the previous year and surpassing hydropower to become the country’s largest source of renewable electricity for the first time.
The growth was driven by a large wave of new solar installations across the country.
Tens of gigawatts of additional solar capacity were added during the year, significantly increasing the amount of electricity generated from sunlight and strengthening solar’s role within the national energy system.
Electricity demand in the United States also increased in 2025 after several years of relatively stable consumption. Rising industrial activity and the expansion of energy intensive technologies, including large data centers, contributed to higher power usage. Solar energy helped meet much of this additional demand.
Overall, solar generation increased substantially during the year, accounting for a large share of the growth in electricity production. Together with wind power, renewable energy sources supplied most of the increase in demand.
The milestone highlights how quickly solar energy is scaling within the US electricity grid. Although fossil fuels still provide a large portion of total power generation, solar is becoming one of the fastest growing energy sources and is expected to play an increasingly important role in the country’s energy mix.
As technology improves and installation costs continue to decline, solar power is likely to expand further in the coming years, contributing more significantly to electricity supply and energy transition efforts.