US Solar Keeps Surging, Generating More Power Than Hydro In 2025

In early 2025, U.S. solar power production jumped 44% compared to the previous year, driven by end-of-year construction to capture tax incentives and long-term cost advantages. "The bad news is that, in contrast to China, solar's growth hasn't been enough to offset rising demand," notes Ars Technica. "Instead, the US also saw significant growth in coal use, which rose by 23 percent compared to the year prior, after years of steady decline." From the report: Short-term fluctuations in demand are normal, generally driven by weather-induced demand for heating or cooling. Despite those changes, demand for electricity in the US has been largely flat for over a decade, largely thanks to gains in efficiency. But 2024 saw demand go up by nearly 3 percent, and the first quarter of 2025 saw another rise, this time of nearly 5 percent. It's a bit too early to say that we're seeing a shift to a period of rising demand, but one has been predicted for some time due to rising data center use and the increased electrification of transportation and appliances.

Under those circumstances, the rest of the difference will be made up for with fossil fuels. Running counter to recent trends, the use of natural gas dropped during the first three months of 2025. This means that the use of coal rose nearly as quickly as demand, up by 23 percent compared to the same time period in 2024. Despite the rise in coal use, the fraction of carbon-free electricity held steady year over year, with wind/solar/hydro/nuclear accounting for 43 percent of all power put on the US grid. That occurred despite small drops in nuclear and hydro production.

Can anyone say LLMs?

[evanh]

It's not just going from flat demand to a rising demand, it's an accelerating rise too.

Ridiculous amounts of money have poured into LLMs and the resulting server farms are stupid amounts of power needs. It makes Trump's election look sane.

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[blue trane]

How about throwing the poor into furnaces to power AI?

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[TheMiddleRoad]

Genius!

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[blue trane]

Are you being sold a tall tale of scarcity when statistica says: "The United States' energy production reached an estimated 104.38 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) in 2024, while consumption amounted to approximately 93.51"?

Even if consumption is blippling slightly upward back towards 2007 levels, why aren't you also saying that production is well above consumption even without needing more coal?

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[rossdee]

Why are you measuring electrical energy in BTU

Whats wrong with Joules or Terawatt hours ?

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[blue trane]

Why are you distracting from the fact that energy consumption is far exceeded by production in the US, so all this scarcity hype is but a mood affiliation?

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[ceoyoyo]

Those are freedom hating commie units. Even Terawatt hours, which is just a freedom hating commie unit dressed up as a blessed freedom unit.

BTU

[will4]

Keep on using BTUs and other less frequent units of measure.

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[Moryath]

You're right. Trump supporters are deranged animals.

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[phantomfive]

Don't data centers have 24 hour round the clock power requirements?

Coming to an end

[battingly]

With the GOP budget bill canceling solar tax credits, the rise in solar production is about to come to a screeching halt.

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[Anonymous Coward]

Sunlight causes cancer. They don't want me telling you that, but look it up. It's like the wind. Beautiful wind. But you can't replace coal because they kill birds and cause cancer. Even when the sun isn't out. The solar causes cancer and they want your taxes to pay for it. Not any more. I know Elom likes the electric but you can get it from coal.We are getting it from coal right now. Like George Washington. What's this? Sign here? No more tax dollars for sun cancer. This is good, isn't it? No president in

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[battingly]

Applause.

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[Kernel Kurtz]

That's remarkably good. Did you ad-lib it or is it an actual quote?

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[TheMiddleRoad]

I think it's an amazingly good adlib.

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[TheMiddleRoad]

You are fucking good at that. I'd vote for you!

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[mamba-mamba]

You are right except, since the tax credit is still available through this calendar year, you can be sure there will be a flurry of activity between now and end of year. This should be a banner year for solar suppliers (which includes not just the panels, but the racks, batteries, inverters, optimizers, etc., etc).