Solar energy in the United States is booming. Along with our partners at Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables, SEIA tracks trends and trajectories in the solar industry that demonstrate the diverse and sustained growth of solar across the country.

Below you will find charts and information summarizing the state of solar in the U.S. If you’re looking for more data, explore our resources page. In addition, SEIA Members have access to presentation slide decks that contain this data and much more. Not a SEIA Member? Join today!

American Solar Deployment Grows at Record Pace

Solar has seen massive growth since 2000. There are now 248 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity installed nationwide, enough to power over 41 million homes. In the last decade, solar deployments have experienced an average annual growth rate of 28%. Strong federal policies like the solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), residential solar tax credits, rapidly declining installation costs, and increasing demand for clean electricity across the private and public sector have driven this growth.

Solar as an Economic Engine

As of 2023, nearly 280,000 Americans work in solar at more than 10,000 companies in every U.S. state. In 2024, the solar industry generated over $70 billion of private investment in the American economy.

Growth in Solar is Led by Falling Prices

Solar installation price drops over the last decade have made solar economically competitive with other sources of electricity generation and led to its growth in new markets. An average-sized residential system has dropped from a pre-incentive price of $40,000 in 2010 to roughly $26,880. Recent utility-scale PPA prices range from $16/MWh – $35/MWh, competitive with all other forms of generation.

Inflation and Supply Chain Constraints Lead to Price Volatility

Over the past 10 years, solar prices have declined. However, for the past 3 years, prices have been volatile. The COVID-19 pandemic brought on inflation and supply chain challenges. Tariffs and trade instability also contributed to price increases. Increased module availability, including an increase in American made modules has eased pressure on prices. In Q1, year-over-year prices rose by 3% in the residential sector, 2% in the commercial sector, and 1% in the utility scale sector.

Solar’s Share of New Capacity Has Grown Rapidly

Solar has been the predominant new generating capacity to the grid every year since 2021. Solar continued to lead the energy transition in Q1 2025, representing over 69% of new capacity, its highest quarter ever. Storage accounted for another 13% of new capacity. Solar’s increasing competitiveness against other technologies has allowed it to quickly increase its share of total U.S. electrical generation – from just 0.1% in 2010 to over 7% today.

The U.S Solar Industry is a 50-State Market

Historically, California been the largest state solar market though other markets are continuing to expand rapidly. Texas led all states in new installations in Q1 2025 with 2.6 GW of new installed capacity. States that voted for Donald Trump accounted for nearly 75% of all solar installations in Q1. In addition, Puerto Rico and 34 U.S. states have installed a cumulative 1 GW or more of solar, compared to only 3 states a decade ago. As demand for solar continues to grow, new state entrants will capture an increasing share of the national market.

High Soft Costs Cut Into Residential Price Declines

Over the past 10 years, residential hardware costs have varied while soft costs (SG&A, permitting, inspection, interconnection and labor) have remained stubbornly high or even increased. U.S. solar soft costs continue to be much higher than those of other developed solar markets around the world. Through programs like Solar Automated Permit Processing (SolarAPP) and SolSmart, SEIA and our partners are working to reduce local barriers to going solar.

Storage is Increasingly Paired with All Forms of Solar

Homeowners and businesses are increasingly demanding solar systems that are paired with battery storage. Over 28% of all new residential solar capacity was paired with storage in 2024, compared to under 12% in 2023.  California’s shift in net metering policy and state incentives for solar+storage in other markets have driven attachment rates up in recent quarters. Loss of power during natural disasters has also driven demand for storage.

Residential Market Continues to Diversify

Over 1.1 GW of residential solar were installed in Q1 2025, a 4% decline compared to Q4 2024 and a 13% year-over-year drop. Demand has been driven by increasing electricity bills and power outages. The depletion of the California backlog from the state’s policy changes, coupled with higher financing costs across all states has hurt the segment, which saw its lowest year for new installations since 2021 in 2024. Emerging state markets like Florida, Texas, and Illinois will drive growth in the second half of the 2020s.

Tax Credits Buoy Commercial Markets

The commercial solar market, which consists of on-site solar installations for businesses, non-profits and governments, has historically been dominated by a handful of markets: California, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York. Q1 2025 was the segment’s strongest first quarter in history, and installed nearly 500 MW. Federal tax policy has led to growth in emerging commercial markets through provisions on transferability, direct pay, and the various adder credits. Disruption to these tax credits would lead to increased electricity costs for businesses.

Community Solar Expansion

While early growth for community solar installations was led primarily by three key markets – New York, Minnesota, and Massachusetts – a growing list of states with community solar programs have helped diversify the market. In 2024, the community solar sector had a record setting year, installing over 1,800 MW. As more states and utilities create and expand community solar programs, access to solar will expand to all types of households and businesses.

Utility-Scale Segment Fueled by Corporate Demand

The utility-scale segment deployed at a record pace in 2024, outpacing new contracts, due in part to installers completing installations ahead of original timelines.​ In Q1, policy uncertainty concerning the module supply chain and federal tax credits have contributed to a further decline in the contracted pipeline. Still, the utility-scale solar market continues to lead energy deployment. Large corporate buyers, many of them tech companies, sign power purchase agreements (PPA) with utility scale projects to meet growing energy needs and meet clean energy goals. Growing demand from these companies’ large-load facilities will continue to be served by utility-scale solar.

Solar PV Growth Forecast

The American solar industry is projected to add an average of 43 GW annually through 2030. This excludes impacts from the latest budget reconciliation bill. Federal tax credits have enabled record installation volumes by providing the long-term certainty key to infrastructure investments, but policy changes could introduce significant risk to the market. ​Additionally, challenges to interconnection high voltage power equipment procurement, and labor availability all represent additional headwinds for solar deployment.

Federal Incentives Fuel Market Growth

The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act has drastically improved baseline projections for the solar industry over the next five years. By 2027, the long-term tax incentives and manufacturing provisions in the IRA provide the market certainty needed to boost expected solar deployment by 67% compared to pre-IRA projections.

American Manufacturing Growth for a Secure Supply Chain​

In addition to spurring deployment of solar energy, the IRA created increased interest in U.S. solar and storage manufacturing. The United States now has over 56 GW of module manufacturing capacity online. As the industry faces uncertainty because of new trade action, U.S. solar manufacturing will be help ease the supply challenges that have hampered the industry in years past. Investment in battery storage manufacturing grown as well, and these manufacturing facilities will ensure that the solar and storage industries have access to reliable, domestic supply for future growth.

More Aggressive Growth Needed to Reach Climate Goals

While projected growth over the next 10 years puts the solar market on a growth path, more work is needed to achieve the pace required for a 100% clean energy electricity system. Annual installations will need to grow to nearly 140 GW by 2030, with cumulative totals over 800 GW by the end of the decade to meet the goal of 100% carbon free electricity by 2035. ​ A combination of private sector innovation and stable, long-term public policy will set the solar industry on a path to achieving these more aggressive goals to address climate change and decarbonize the economy.​

Companies Procure Record Levels of Solar and Storage

Data from SEIA’s annual Solar Means Business report show that major U.S. corporations, including Meta, Amazon, Google, Apple, and Walmart are investing in solar and storage at record levels. Through Q1 2024, the top corporate solar users in America have installed nearly 40 GW of solar capacity, along with over 1.8 GWh of battery storage.

Other key takeaways:

  • Over 18% of U.S. solar capacity has a corporate offtaker
  • Companies are increasingly diversifying their procurement strategies, including through both on-site and off-site solar, as well as community solar, green tariffs, and solar + storage
  • Amazon, Google, and Meta have a combined contracted pipeline of over 25 GW

You can explore SEIA’s Solar Means Business report, view additional data and read market sentiment analysis of the corporate solar space.