Leading States for Solar and Storage Projects

Don’t mess with Texas ... solar, or market economics! In February 2026, Texas took the crown as the #1 state for utility-scale solar: Solar went from 2% in 2020 to out-generating coal They said it couldn't be done in the land of oil and gas. They were (of course) wrong 1. Texas solar exploded to 40GW+, or 14%+ of total power, pushing coal into the rearview mirror in the ERCOT mix (14% vs 13%) 2. Texas now leads the US in utility-scale solar capacity, moving past California's long-standing reign 3. Texas now also has over 15 GW of operational battery storage which acts as the shock absorber for solar when the sun sets, capturing midday solar surplus and discharging during the critical 7-9 PM evening ramp. Texas is taming the Duck Curve in real-time 4. During the record-breaking Summer of 2025, ERCOT issued zero conservation alerts. Why? Solar and batteries performed with nearly 99% availability during peak demand hours and kept the grid stable while traditional plants struggled with thermal stress 5. Texas has at least $30b in planned solar & storage investment through 2027: Decoupling growth from emissions while keeping a lid on prices. The sun is now the most reliable hedge against price volatility in the Lone Star State 6. Businesses: Rates significantly lower than the national average. Businesses that can shift their heavy operations to solar hours (midday) seeing big wins 7 . Citizens: Prices flat. Solar and BESS prevented catastrophic price spikes during the record-breaking heat of 2025 Market economics, not mandates, drove this shift - which is accelerating In Texas, if it’s cheaper, it wins. It helps that it's also better, healthier and more reliable.

If you want to see where the future of energy is being built, don’t just look at Washington—look at places like Texas and Wyoming. Texas has quietly become the epicenter of the advanced energy economy in the U.S. A few stats that stand out: – Wind: Texas generated nearly 28% of all U.S. wind power in 2023 (Source: EIA) – Solar: Over 22 GW of capacity—up 800% in just a few years (ACP) – Battery storage: 6.4 new GW online in 2024—a 5,500% increase (EIA) This is what happens when you combine real demand, a deregulated market, and a culture that values speed over red tape. But it’s not just Texas. Wyoming is carving its own path forward—one that’s equally ambitious, but different in approach. – Wind now makes up 21% of the state’s power, more than doubling since 2019 (EIA) – A 3,550 MW wind project is underway, one of the largest in the world  – And most notably, Wyoming is becoming ground zero for next-gen nuclear — TerraPower, backed by Bill Gates and built in partnership with the US Dept of Energy, is launching its first Natrium reactor there, pairing advanced fission with on-demand energy storage This isn’t just about energy transition. It’s about energy competitiveness. Both states are showing that with the right policy environment and public-private collaboration, you can move faster, scale bigger, and build systems that actually reflect the complexity of a 21st-century energy economy. The future of advanced energy in the U.S. isn’t coming from a single model. It’s coming from state-level innovation—tailored to local strengths and national ambition.

Big Tech Turns to Solar and Storage to Bypass Grid Bottlenecks PV Magazine January 7, 2025 New data from Wood Mackenzie’s Q3 2025 data center report highlight a rapid shift toward self-powered “energy parks,” as hyperscalers integrate solar and battery storage directly with data center campuses to overcome grid interconnection delays. As generative AI drives unprecedented electricity demand, traditional grids are proving too slow and constrained to keep pace. In response, data center developers are increasingly co-locating generation and storage to secure reliable power while avoiding years-long interconnection queues. Key signals from the data: • 45 GW added to U.S. data center project pipelines in Q3 2025 • 245 GW of planned U.S. solar + storage capacity by mid-October 2025 • Texas leads growth, with pipeline capacity nearly doubling from 35 GW to 67 GW in just two quarters • Solar and storage now account for 91% of clean power additions in Q3 Solar and battery storage are emerging as preferred solutions due to speed, modularity, and geographic flexibility. “Unlike natural gas or nuclear, which require massive centralized infrastructure and long lead times for permitting, solar and storage are modular. This allows data center developers to pace power generation buildout with the phased construction of datacenters.” Projects can be sited on or adjacent to data center campuses using “private wire” or “direct connect” configurations—bypassing public grid upgrades altogether. Battery energy storage is also becoming essential for AI workloads. AI chips create instantaneous power spikes that strain local distribution systems; behind-the-meter storage helps smooth these loads and maintain reliability. Utility-scale storage installations reached 4.6 GW in Q3 2025, a 27% year-over-year increase, with Texas and California accounting for more than 80% of new capacity. Access to power is now the primary constraint on AI growth. More than 24 GW (24 GW ≈ power for 18–24 million homes) of new data center demand was announced in the first half of 2025—over three times the volume seen a year earlier. U.S. data center power demand is expected to increase significantly in 2026 — with forecasts projecting total grid-based demand of about 75.8 GW. Solar and storage have moved beyond sustainability, emerging as the most viable path to delivering power at scale and enabling AI growth in a grid-constrained world. Insight: Community opposition to data centers often reflects concerns about utility rates, grid strain, water and land use, construction impacts, and limited local benefits. Pairing data centers with renewable energy parks can improve acceptance by delivering jobs and tax revenues, cleaner operations, resilience benefits, reduced resource impacts, and less upward pressure on utility rates. https://lnkd.in/eUHeFe3N

2025 is set to be record-breaking year for U.S. clean energy capacity. The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects 64 GW of new electricity capacity will come online this year, potentially the largest annual addition in history. -Solar leads: 33.3 GW -Batteries next: 18.3 GW -Wind: 7.8 GW -Natural gas: 4.7 GW Battery storage milestones: Could account for 18.3 GW of capacity in 2025 - a record for the technology Supplied 5.9 GW (26%) of all new U.S. capacity in H1 Texas = 7 GW of planned additions this year Arizona & California also leading in early 2025 deployments: 12 GW added in H1, but 21 GW expected in H2 Driven by seasonality + policy certainty after the federal clean energy tax credit deadlines firmed up Texas now surpasses California as the top state for utility-scale solar Fossil fuels step back 8.7 GW of retirements were planned for 2025 (mostly coal) Some delayed/cancelled, including large coal and gas units in Maryland & Texas Coal = 71% of retirements this year Big picture: Unlike the last U.S. record build in 2002, when gas dominated, this time the surge is being led by renewables + storage. A clear signal of how quickly the power mix is shifting.

2025 proved something important. Clean energy is no longer catching up. It is leading. The U.S. added about 33 GW of new solar this year, making up half of all new electric capacity. Texas led the country with 12-13 GW of new solar on its own. Battery storage kept scaling fast. About 14 GW came online this year, with 70% of all U.S. battery capacity located in Texas and California. In March, clean electricity hit 50.8% of U.S. generation for the first time. Fossil fuels fell below half. California burned 10 billion fewer kilowatt hours of natural gas compared to 2020. Global renewable energy investment climbed to 386 billion dollars in the first half of the year, up 10% year-over-year. Renewables became the largest source of electricity in the world. Puerto Rico continued to grow its distributed energy system this year, adding roughly 300–400 MW of new rooftop solar and expanding to about 185,000 home batteries in total. Texas, which passed California in utility-scale solar back in 2024, widened its lead again this year with another strong buildout. The momentum came from states, developers, and communities that kept moving forward regardless of federal uncertainty. But here's what those numbers don't tell you: every project that came online this year started years ago. Before anyone knew, the IRA would be under threat. Before tariffs became unpredictable. Before residential solar tax credits were set to expire at the end of this year. The pipeline that was completed in 2025 was constructed under a different set of rules. However, the projects that are beginning now are stepping into a landscape full of uncertainties. Federal incentives are in flux and interconnection queues stretch for years. Developers are grappling with how to make the numbers work while the policy environment continues to shift around them. 2026 won't run on momentum alone. It'll run on whether the grid can expand as fast as demand requires, whether policy holds or fractures, and whether capital still flows when the risk premium goes up. And all of this doesn’t include the datacenter and AI boom. The industry proved it can build at scale. The question is whether it'll be allowed to keep building. What went wrong in 2025 that still isn’t fixed? And what’s the big risk nobody’s thinking about for 2026?

For the first time ever in history, over half of India’s power capacity is clean energy and most people haven’t even noticed. India has crossed 500+ GW total capacity, with 250+ GW from solar, wind, hydro and nuclear. That’s 50%+ of our power mix, achieved years before our 2030 target. A decade ago, renewables were a side story. Today, they’re leading the growth. 2025 alone added 45–48 GW of new green capacity, one of the fastest expansions globally. And if you look at the map, you can see where this change is coming from. States like Gujarat (~64 GW), Maharashtra (~55 GW), Rajasthan (~54 GW), Tamil Nadu (~44 GW) and Karnataka (~36 GW) are leading with large-scale solar and wind projects. At Tara Chand InfraLogistic Solutions Limited, we’re actively building the renewable infrastructure behind this shift, and proud to contribute to India’s clean energy journey. And this isn’t just about electricity. Clean, reliable energy means faster industry, growing cities, EV adoption and lower pollution. Nothing moves without power. When power gets stronger, the whole economy moves forward. On World Sustainable Energy Day, let’s recognise this slow but powerful progress toward a cleaner, self-reliant future.

Tariffs are a big blow to one of the fastest-growing industries in Texas: Battery storage. Texas has emerged as a national leader in renewable energy infrastructure, particularly battery storage. In 2025 Texas is predicted to double its storage capacity. But wait. We just imposed a 125% tariff on a key battery market (China)! Tariffs are a serious threat to the momentum of the past couple of years.  Without tariffs, the cost of industrial storage would decrease by 13% to $204 per kilowatt-hour this year. However, due to the tariffs, a turnkey system will now cost $266 per kilowatt-hour, which is a 17% increase from last year (Source: BNEF). In 2024, Texas beat California to install 4 gigawatts of battery capacity.(It also beat California with the most installed utility-scale solar capacity, Texas = 32 GW vs California = 16.4 GW). How is a red state like Texas outpacing  California: Pure economics. Renewable energy makes business sense here. The cost of building battery storage plants has plummeted by nearly 50% since 2017, making these projects financially viable without government intervention. This market-driven approach has propelled Texas ahead of states like California, where subsidies play a larger role. Can Texas keep the pace? It is hard to predict anything right now. But projects are moving forward and getting financed: -Houston startup GoodPeak secured 22 million in debt financing for two 10 MW battery energy storage projects, both of which would come online end of 2025. -esVolta, LP backed by $243 million in funding through equity investments and tax credit sales is bringing three new projects in Texas equivalent of 1 GW online in mid 2025 -Ørsted is constructing a 250 MW in Fort Bend County A space to watch closely over the next few months! Image Source: Bloomberg NEF

The US power grid is expanding. US renewable energy has momentum. Natural gas retains an important role in boosting generating capacity. The U.S. Energy Information Administration in its latest Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory report forecasts additions to the US power grid in 2025. Highlights: ⚡ EIA expects 63 GW of new utility-scale electric-generating capacity to be added in 2025, an almost 30% increase from 2024 (48.6 GW of capacity was added) and the most since 2002. 🌻 Together, solar and battery storage account for 81% of expected total capacity additions, with solar making up over 50% of the increase. ☀️ Solar: In 2024, generators added a record 30 GW of utility-scale solar to the U.S. grid, accounting for 61% of capacity additions last year. EIA expects this trend to continue in 2025, with 32.5 GW of new utility-scale solar capacity to be added. Texas (11.6 GW) and California (2.9 GW) will account for almost half of the new utility-scale solar capacity addition in 2025. Five other states (Indiana, Arizona, Michigan, Florida, and New York) will each account for more than 1 GW of added solar capacity in 2025 and collectively account for 7.8 GW of planned solar capacity additions. 🔋 Battery storage: In 2025, capacity growth from battery storage could set a record with 18.2 GW of utility-scale battery storage expected to be added to the grid. U.S. battery storage already achieved record growth in 2024 when power providers added 10.3 GW of new battery storage capacity. This growth highlights the importance of battery storage when used with renewable energy, helping to balance supply and demand and improve grid stability. 🟢 Wind. In 2025, EIA expects 7.7 GW of wind capacity to be added to the U.S. grid. Last year, only 5.1 GW was added, the smallest wind capacity addition since 2014. Texas, Wyoming, and Massachusetts will account for almost half of 2025 wind capacity additions. Two large offshore wind plants are expected to come online this year: the 800-megawatt (MW) Vineyard Wind 1 in Massachusetts and the 715-MW Revolution Wind in Rhode Island. 🏭 Natural gas. Developers plan to build 4.4 GW of new natural gas-fired capacity in the United States during 2025: 50% from simple-cycle combustion turbines and 36% from combined-cycle power blocks. Utah, Louisiana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Tennessee account for more than 70% of these planned natural gas additions. The largest natural gas capacity addition is 840 MW at the Intermountain Power Project in Utah, which will replace 1,800 MW of obsolete coal-fired capacity at the plant to be retired in July. Source: https://lnkd.in/deg_wQ7h Power generation is not built overnight. Developers, regulators, grid operators and financing parties have collaborated for a long time to plan, permit, develop, design and construct these projects, which are coming to fruition now. Time will tell how long-term trends will be impacted by new policy shifts.

The U.S. is set to deploy 63 GW of new power capacity in 2025—the highest annual total ever recorded, according to the latest EIA-860M report. This surge is driven our ever-increasing need for new energy capacity, with Solar & Storage making up the bulk of new additions. 🔆 Solar leads the charge, accounting for 51.5% of all new capacity. Texas is at the forefront with 11.6 GW, followed by California, Indiana, Arizona, Michigan, Florida, and New York. ⚡ Battery storage is booming, with 18.2 GW of new capacity expected—Texas, California, and Arizona will account for over 80% of these additions. The two largest planned battery projects (500 MW each) will be co-located with massive solar farms in California (Kern County) and Texas (Wharton County). 🌎 Distributed solar (residential, commercial, and industrial) is also growing, with 7 GW of new capacity, bringing the total to 60.6 GW by year-end. With such rapid deployment, the focus now shifts to grid upgrades and storage solutions to support this clean energy transition. What do you think—can infrastructure keep up with the pace of energy demand growth? #RenewableEnergy #SolarPower #BatteryStorage #EnergyTransition #Sustainability https://lnkd.in/eiezPStU