Texas Leads California in Solar Power Capacity
By Reuters | 20 Aug, 2025

In a master stroke of irony Texas, a red state, has surpassed California in both total installed solar power capacity and in new installations.

An aerial view shows rows of solar panels at a solar farm in Anson, Texas, U.S., April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Daniel Cole/File Photo

Developers are on track to add 33 gigawatts of solar power in the U.S. this year, accounting for about half of the total new electricity generating capacity planned for the country in 2025, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

If the plans are realized, large-scale solar power additions in the U.S. would reach a record high, said the EIA, which based its analysis on a survey of developers. New battery storage, which stores electricity from solar farms and other energy sources, may also hit a yearly record in 2025.

Wind and natural gas power plants accounted for the rest of the capacity additions, the EIA said. 

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Solar energy does not produce global warming emissions. That makes it central to plans by U.S. states to decarbonize, while also meeting record-high electricity demand brought on by Big Tech and other expanding industries.

Many of the federal government financial incentives that propelled the development of solar power over the last several years, however, will disappear under the administration of President Donald Trump, adding uncertainty to future development of the technology.

TEXAS SOLAR STANDOUT

Texas, which last year surpassed California as the state with the most large-scale solar capacity, accounted for more than a quarter of the solar power developed so far in 2025. 

For the rest of the year, the Lone Star State plans for another 9.7 gigawatts of new solar capacity, or nearly half of all of U.S. solar planned for development over the time period.

Texas' sunny weather, availability of large amounts of land and quickly-increasing power demand have drawn solar energy development.

(Reporting by Laila Kearney; editing by Barbara Lewis)