Solar met 61% of US electricity demand growth in 2025

This report by Ember analyses Energy Information Administration (EIA) data to demonstrate how solar power and battery storage met a significant portion of the United States' rising electricity demand in 2025.

• In 2025, solar generation increased by a record 83 TWh (a 27% increase to 387 TWh), accounting for 8.5% of all US electricity. This growth met 61% of the 135 TWh increase in electricity demand, which rose by 3.1%—the fourth highest rate of increase in a decade.
• Solar growth was most concentrated in regions experiencing the highest demand increases. In Texas and the Midwest, solar met 81% of the demand rise. In the Mid-Atlantic region, which saw the largest rise in electricity grid demand, solar growth met 33% of that increase. Solar also met nearly all demand growth in the Southwest, Northwest, Southeast, and California regions.
• Solar generation met all of the rise in US electricity demand during daytime hours (10:00-18:00 ET) and, supported by batteries, met some of the rise during evening hours (18:00-02:00 ET). Conversely, overnight and some evening demand increases were met primarily by coal and gas generation.
• While solar generation rose, utility-scale solar capacity additions were 6% lower than in 2024, attributed to grid connection delays and uncertainty regarding tariffs on imported panels. In contrast, battery capacity additions increased by 133% to 26 GW.
• Solar adoption remains uneven across the US; 37 states have a solar share of less than 10%. California and Nevada have the highest shares at 37% and 34% respectively, while New Mexico was the fastest riser, increasing its share from 7% to 17% in the 24 months to October 2025.

APA

Jones, D., Rangelova, K., & Fulghum, N. (2025). Solar met 61% of US electricity demand growth in 2025. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2026/01/Solar-met-61-of-US-electricity-demand-growth-in-2025.pdf

Chicago

Jones, Dave, Kostantsa Rangelova, and Nicolas Fulghum. Solar met 61% of US electricity demand growth in 2025. Ember, 2025. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2026/01/Solar-met-61-of-US-electricity-demand-growth-in-2025.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Jones |first1=Dave |last2=Rangelova |first2=Kostantsa |last3=Fulghum |first3=Nicolas |title=Solar met 61% of US electricity demand growth in 2025 |publisher=Ember |date=16 January 2025 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2026/01/Solar-met-61-of-US-electricity-demand-growth-in-2025.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{jones2025solar, author = {Jones, Dave and Rangelova, Kostantsa and Fulghum, Nicolas}, title = {{Solar met 61\% of US electricity demand growth in 2025}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2026/01/Solar-met-61-of-US-electricity-demand-growth-in-2025.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }