U.S. solar generation hit 385 terawatt-hours in 2025 | Clean Energy Briefing — March 13, 2026

TODAY'S LEAD: U.S. solar generation hit 385 terawatt-hours in 2025 — a 25 percent leap that made solar 8.5 percent of all electricity — yet surging demand meant fossil fuel output and emissions still climbed. The tension between record clean energy buildout and relentless load growth is now the defining challenge of the American energy transition.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

U.S. Solar Hits 385 TWh, Emissions Still Rise: Solar supplied 8.5% of U.S. electricity in 2025, with 86 GW of new utility-scale capacity projected for 2026, but rising demand pushed fossil generation higher too. Read More: PV Magazine.
Swift Solar Acquires Meyer Burger Manufacturing Assets: Swift Solar bought Meyer Burger's heterojunction technology IP and engineering teams to build gigawatt-scale domestic solar cell production. Read More: PV Magazine USA.
New Jersey Regulators Approve 1 GW Battery Buildout: State regulators greenlit construction of roughly 1 GW of battery storage in the PJM footprint as part of an energy affordability drive. Read More: Energy Storage News.
Green Banks Restructure After Trump Funding Cuts: Institutions that relied on the $20 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund are scrambling to find new capital after the Trump administration slashed federal support. Read More: Solar Power World.
Peak Energy Deploys Sodium-Ion Storage in Wisconsin: Peak Energy and RWE are deploying sodium-ion battery technology into the MISO grid, marking a notable commercial milestone for the lithium-alternative chemistry. Read More: CleanTechnica.

Solar & Storage

The headline numbers are staggering: American solar farms and rooftop panels churned out 385 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2025, a 25 percent jump that accounted for a full 65.5 percent of all new generation added to the grid, according to. Utility-scale solar grew three times faster than distributed installations, and 2026 looks even bigger — analysts project 86 GW of new utility-scale solar, wind, and storage capacity, representing 93 percent of all planned additions. Yet the same data carries a sobering caveat: electricity demand rose fast enough that fossil fuel generation and total power-sector emissions also increased. Building clean gigawatts, it turns out, is necessary but not sufficient when data centers and electrification keep pushing the load curve higher. Read More: PV Magazine.

The domestic supply chain got a significant shot in the arm when Swift Solar closed its acquisition of Meyer Burger's heterojunction (HJT) technology assets, including intellectual property, specialized manufacturing equipment, and — critically — the Swiss company's engineering teams. Swift plans to use the HJT platform as a foundation for scaling silicon-perovskite tandem cells, a next-generation technology that promises meaningfully higher efficiencies. The deal addresses a persistent bottleneck in the U.S. solar supply chain — cell manufacturing — and positions Swift to capture domestic content bonuses that remain a powerful incentive for developers even as other federal clean energy supports face political headwinds. Read More: PV Magazine USA reports.

Meanwhile, the Gemini Solar and Storage Project in Clark County, Nevada, secured fresh financial backing this week as Primergy closed a $760 million refinancing, according to. The transaction, backed by Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners, underscores continued institutional appetite for utility-scale solar-plus-storage in the desert Southwest. In New Mexico, Otero County is advancing a to regulate utility-scale solar and wind siting in unincorporated areas, requiring setbacks, permits, and decommissioning bonds. The regulation is designed to balance the state's 100 percent carbon-free electricity target by 2045 with protections for agricultural land, water resources, and wildlife — the kind of local-level framework that increasingly determines whether large renewable energy projects actually get built. Read More: PV Tech, draft ordinance.

The battery storage sector is experiencing a wave of activity that extends well beyond lithium-ion. In Wisconsin, are deploying sodium-ion battery systems to serve MISO grid operators, a commercially significant move for a chemistry that avoids the supply-chain vulnerabilities of lithium. The initial deployment at RWE's Wisconsin lab is a stepping stone toward larger grid-scale installations across MISO territory, as details. Sodium-ion cells use abundant, low-cost materials and sidestep the geopolitical complexities of lithium and cobalt sourcing — advantages that could prove decisive if trade policy tightens further. Read More: Peak Energy and RWE, Renewable Energy World.

Across the broader storage landscape, that Arizona is adding grid batteries faster than any other state, racing to manage its enormous solar resource as afternoon generation peaks collide with evening demand ramps. California and Texas still lead in total installed capacity, but Arizona's growth rate signals a broadening of the storage market into the states that need it most. Additional projects are also moving forward elsewhere: Hanjung America is building an energy storage manufacturing facility in Indiana, and Avantus is advancing a $300 million solar-plus-storage project in Arizona, according to. Read More: Canary Media reports, Energy Storage News.

Policy & Markets

The Trump administration's decision to gut the $20 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund is now rippling through the clean energy finance ecosystem. Green banks — the specialized lenders that used federal seed capital to finance solar installations, efficiency retrofits, and battery storage for underserved communities — are restructuring to survive. Some are turning to state-level capital, others to private co-investment models. The funding loss threatens to slow deployment precisely in the market segments — small commercial, multifamily, low-income residential — where private capital has historically been hardest to attract. Read More: Solar Power World reports.

In a move that surprised some in the battery industry, the U.S. International Trade Commission voted that Chinese battery anode imports are not injuring American manufacturers, blocking the Department of Commerce from imposing antidumping and countervailing duties, according to. The ruling preserves lower-cost anode material access for domestic battery assemblers and energy storage developers at a time when the Trump administration has otherwise signaled a harder line on Chinese clean energy supply chains. For storage developers racing to hit interconnection deadlines, the decision removes one potential cost escalation risk — at least for now. Read More: Solar Power World.

At the state level, New Jersey regulators advanced approximately 1 GW of new battery storage capacity in PJM territory, framing the investment as an affordability tool rather than purely a climate measure. The framing matters: pitching storage as a way to reduce peak-demand costs and improve reliability gives it political durability even in an era when climate-focused policy faces skepticism in Washington. In Maryland, the House Environment and Transportation Committee approved the Utility RELIEF Act, sweeping legislation that would cut monthly surcharges and reopen competitive electricity retail markets, according to. Environmental advocates warn the bill would weaken the state's EmPOWER energy-efficiency program, setting up a floor fight over how to balance consumer cost relief with long-term clean energy goals. Read More: Energy Storage News reports, Maryland Matters.

LOOKING AHEAD

Maryland Floor Vote on Utility RELIEF Act: The sweeping energy reform bill heads to the full House, where the battle between ratepayer savings and efficiency program cuts will intensify — watch for amendment fights over EmPOWER funding.
Sodium-Ion Scale-Up Tests: Peak Energy and RWE's Wisconsin deployment will be closely watched as a proof-of-concept for lithium-free grid storage; larger MISO installations are planned, and performance data will shape utility procurement decisions industry-wide.
Green Bank Survival Strategies: With federal seed money gone, the next 90 days will reveal which green banks can pivot to state and private capital — and which market segments lose access to clean energy finance as a result.

TODAY'S QUICK ANSWERS

Q: What does the ITC ruling on Chinese battery anodes mean for U.S. storage project costs?

A: It's a near-term relief valve. By blocking antidumping duties, the ruling keeps anode material costs stable for domestic battery assemblers and, by extension, for developers pricing out grid-scale storage projects. But the decision could face political backlash from the Trump administration, which has broadly favored tariff action on Chinese clean energy goods — so developers should not assume the trade landscape is settled.

Q: Why does record solar generation coexisting with rising emissions matter for the industry?

A: It reframes the entire buildout narrative. Adding 86 GW of clean capacity in 2026 is remarkable, but if demand growth — driven by data centers, EVs, and electrification — outpaces deployment, emissions keep climbing. For executives, this means the market opportunity is even larger than projected, but it also strengthens the case for storage, demand response, and grid flexibility investments alongside generation.

Q: What should developers watch in the sodium-ion battery space?

A: Round-trip efficiency and cycle degradation data from the Wisconsin deployment. Sodium-ion offers cheaper, more abundant materials and avoids lithium supply-chain risk, but it must prove comparable performance at grid scale. If Peak Energy and RWE deliver strong results in MISO, expect utilities to begin including sodium-ion in storage RFPs by late 2026 — a potential inflection point for the technology.

THE BOTTOM LINE: America's clean energy engine is running at full throttle — 385 TWh of solar, gigawatts of new storage, domestic manufacturing deals — but load growth is running faster, making the gap between deployment speed and decarbonization reality the industry's most urgent strategic problem.