U.S. clean power additions surged 45% in the second quarter
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
- Q2 Clean Power Additions Jump 45% to 17.1 GW: The U.S. installed 7.4 GW of solar, 5 GW of wind, and 4.7 GW of battery storage in the second quarter, with cumulative utility-scale capacity reaching 388 GW and nationwide battery storage surpassing 53 GW, per PV Magazine USA. Read More: PV Magazine USA.
- Trump Emergency Order Threatens Battery Growth: A broadly worded executive order declaring a national security emergency over foreign-made grid technology has cast uncertainty across the U.S. energy storage sector, with developers scrambling to assess impacts on expansion plans, reports Canary Media. Read More: Canary Media.
- Ohio Approves 149 MW Coal-to-Solar Conversion: State regulators unanimously permitted a 149 MW solar and 149 MW battery storage project at the Hamden Energy site in Vinton County, a rare clean energy win in Ohio, per Canary Media. Read More: Canary Media.
- FlexGen Commissions 320 MWh Texas Battery in Six Weeks: FlexGen and SMT Energy brought a 160 MW/320 MWh battery facility online in Houston to meet surging ERCOT demand, demonstrating accelerated deployment timelines, reports Energy Storage News. Read More: Energy Storage News.
- Moment Energy Secures First FEOC-Compliant BESS Status: The company became the first U.S. battery storage manufacturer to achieve verified FEOC compliance, with production in British Columbia and Texas, clearing a path for buyers to access federal Investment Tax Credits, per Solar Builder. Read More: Solar Builder.
Solar & Storage
The Q2 installation numbers tell a story of an industry still accelerating despite political headwinds. Pattern Energy's 3.65 GW SunZia Wind project in New Mexico became the largest land-based wind installation in U.S. history, while battery storage additions of 4.7 GW in a single quarter helped push the national fleet past 53 GW. For developers watching the numbers, the 45% year-over-year jump suggests project pipelines seeded during the Inflation Reduction Act's early years are now reaching commercial operation at scale.
In Ohio, where local resistance and state-level restrictions have slowed renewable development, regulators handed the industry a unanimous approval for the Hamden Energy site in Vinton County. The 149 MW solar plus 149 MW battery storage project converts a former coal facility—exactly the kind of brownfield-to-clean-energy transition that can ease permitting friction in fossil-dependent communities. The approval lands in a state that has been among the more hostile to large-scale renewables; a Columbia University report cited in Monday's briefing counted 865 local barriers to renewable energy nationwide, with Ohio among the states adding restrictions.
Texas continues to be the proving ground for battery storage speed. FlexGen and SMT Energy commissioned a 160 MW/320 MWh facility in Houston in just six weeks, a timeline that would have been difficult to imagine even two years ago. ERCOT's record demand is the obvious driver—developers who can move fast can capture merchant revenue in a market where scarcity pricing remains a real phenomenon. Separately, B2U Storage Solutions completed its second repurposed-EV-battery project in the state, with the Bexar Martinez BESS near San Antonio now delivering 28 MWh of grid services to ERCOT. B2U now operates 50 MWh of second-life storage across Texas, a niche sector growing alongside the broader storage market. Read More: Bexar Martinez BESS near San Antonio.
The second-life battery space got another boost with Moment Energy's FEOC compliance certification. As federal requirements around foreign-linked battery sourcing tighten, Moment's verified status—the first of its kind for a U.S. BESS manufacturer—gives procurement officers a clear path to federal Investment Tax Credits without running afoul of Foreign Entity of Concern restrictions. The company manufactures in British Columbia and Texas. For investors and developers navigating an increasingly complex regulatory environment for battery supply chains, that certification matters more than the megawatt-hours suggest.
Meanwhile, AI is starting to reshape how solar gets built. Burns & McDonnell and Gritt have deployed AI-powered robotics at a utility-scale solar construction site in McLean County, Illinois. Details on cost savings or productivity gains remain thin, but automation in solar construction addresses a real bottleneck: labor shortages that have delayed projects and inflated costs across the industry. In New Mexico, Sustainability Partners broke ground on roughly 6 MW of solar across eight city facilities in Albuquerque, aiming to bring municipal operations to 100% renewable energy. Read More: deployed AI-powered robotics, 6 MW of solar across eight city facilities.
Wind Energy
The quarter's wind numbers were dominated by SunZia. Pattern Energy's 3.65 GW project in New Mexico now holds the title of largest land-based wind installation in the country, a milestone that was years in the making after protracted permitting and transmission development. Its contribution helped drive the 5 GW of wind capacity added nationally in Q2. On the decommissioning side, GE is preparing removal plans for Ireland's only offshore wind farm, the 25 MW Arklow 1—a reminder that the first generation of offshore turbines is reaching end-of-life even as the global industry pushes toward far larger installations.
Policy & Markets
The Trump administration's executive order on grid cybersecurity looms as the day's most consequential policy development. By declaring a national security emergency over foreign-made technology risks in the grid, the order could slow the battery storage buildout that just delivered its strongest quarter ever. The language is reportedly vague, which is precisely the problem for developers and financiers: uncertainty over which equipment, which suppliers, and which projects might be affected can freeze procurement decisions even before any enforcement action materializes. Read More: order.
The order arrives at a moment of supply-chain reconfiguration already underway. Chinese storage supplier Sungrow has struck a multi-year deal to procure LFP battery cells from Samsung SDI, a South Korean manufacturer, to sustain deliveries to the U.S. market. The agreement, valued in the trillions of Korean won, signals that major Chinese suppliers are already routing around potential restrictions by sourcing cells from allied-nation producers. Whether that kind of restructuring satisfies the new executive order's requirements remains an open question—and a significant one for any developer with Chinese-linked equipment in its supply chain. Read More: procure LFP battery cells from Samsung SDI.
The FEOC compliance pathway is becoming a competitive differentiator. Moment Energy's verified status, combined with Sungrow's Samsung SDI pivot, suggests the storage industry is bifurcating: manufacturers that can demonstrate clean supply chains will command premium positioning as federal scrutiny intensifies. Developers locked into contracts with suppliers who cannot clear FEOC thresholds may find their ITC eligibility at risk.
LOOKING AHEAD
- Executive Order Implementation Details: Watch for agency guidance clarifying which battery technologies and suppliers fall under the Trump administration's national security emergency declaration—timing and scope will determine whether the storage sector faces a speed bump or a wall.
- Q3 Installation Tracking: With Q2 delivering 17.1 GW and 388 GW cumulative capacity, analysts will be watching whether the executive order's uncertainty begins showing up in interconnection queue withdrawals or procurement delays in the current quarter.
- Ohio Permitting Pipeline: The Hamden Energy approval could signal a thaw in Ohio's historically difficult permitting environment; several additional solar applications are pending before state regulators, and the unanimous vote may influence outcomes.
TODAY'S QUICK ANSWERS
Q: What does the Trump cybersecurity order mean for developers with battery projects in the pipeline?
A: Until implementing agencies issue specific guidance, the order creates procurement risk for any project using foreign-manufactured battery systems. Developers should assess their supply chains for FEOC exposure now. Moment Energy's verified compliance and Sungrow's pivot to Samsung SDI cells illustrate two early strategies—domestic manufacturing with clean certification, or sourcing from allied-nation suppliers—but neither path has been tested against the order's requirements yet.
Q: Why should investors care about the 53 GW battery storage milestone?
A: That figure represents a market that barely existed five years ago and just posted 4.7 GW in a single quarter. But the Trump executive order introduces regulatory risk at precisely the moment the sector is scaling. The gap between proven demand—ERCOT's record loads, data center growth—and potential supply-chain disruption is where the investment risk now sits.
Q: What does Ohio's coal-to-solar approval signal for developers in restrictive states?
A: Brownfield conversions at former fossil fuel sites may offer the path of least resistance in states with growing anti-renewable sentiment. The Hamden Energy project's unanimous approval—149 MW solar plus 149 MW storage in a county with coal heritage—suggests reuse narratives can shift local politics. Developers targeting hostile markets should study this model closely.
THE BOTTOM LINE: The U.S. clean power sector just posted its strongest quarter on record with 17.1 GW of additions, but a vaguely worded Trump executive order on foreign battery technology could inject the kind of supply-chain uncertainty that turns procurement delays into project cancellations—making FEOC-compliant sourcing an urgent strategic priority, not a compliance checkbox.