Renewable Energy Dominates U.S. Power Growth Despite Policy Headwinds

Renewable energy continued its remarkable growth trajectory in 2025, accounting for 93 percent of U.S. capacity additions through September, with solar and storage representing 83 percent of that total. According to BloombergNEF, global solar and wind installations exceeded 800 gigawatts last year—an all-time record and a tripling in yearly deployments since 2021.

Two-Thirds of Energy Investment Goes Clean

The International Energy Agency reports that global energy investment in 2025 likely exceeded $3.3 trillion, with $2.2 trillion flowing into clean energy technologies including renewables, electric vehicles, grids, storage, efficiency, and clean fuels. This means two-thirds of every dollar spent on energy is now going to cleaner options.

"Science magazine recognized the unstoppable rise of renewable energy as its 2025 Breakthrough of the Year."

Policy Changes Won't Stop Growth

Despite significant policy changes in the United States, including rollbacks of clean energy tax credits under the new administration, renewable deployment is expected to surge in 2026 as developers shift to safe-harbor projects. BloombergNEF projects 4.5 terawatts of new wind and solar installations globally over the next five years—a 67 percent increase over the preceding five-year period. Even in the U.S., analysts expect 336 gigawatts of wind, solar, and energy storage to be installed between 2026 and 2030.

Storage Reaches Critical Tipping Point

Energy storage is reaching a critical tipping point, with annual global installations expected to exceed 100 gigawatts in 2026 for the first time. Battery prices have fallen to $117 per kilowatt-hour, less than a third of prices three years ago, making storage increasingly competitive for grid stability applications.

China continues to dominate global production of renewable energy technologies, manufacturing 80 percent of the world's solar cells, 70 percent of wind turbines, and 70 percent of lithium batteries. Fixed-mount solar already outcompetes natural gas combined cycle in many regions without credits, and data center demand is providing additional support for renewable deployment.