Solar power has exploded in popularity as wind lags, report shows

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1. **From USA TODAY:**

   Renewable energy production reached record amounts in 2024, producing 24% of U.S. electricity, an annual update on sustainable energy finds.

   That includes electricity from solar, wind and hydroelectric power plants, with solar driving the increase, the [Sustainable Energy in America 2025 Factbook](https://bcse.org/market-trends/), released Friday, reports.

   Windpower is [becoming less popular](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/environment/2025/01/23/trump-order-halts-offshore-wind-what-does-it-mean-for-massachusetts/77873292007/), both onshore and offshore projects struggled in 2024, showing the fourth straight year of declining additions.

   “From the point of view of solar, things have been going very well. Huge, record level of additions, this sector has been going from strength to strength,” said Tom Rolands-Reese, the head of research for North America for BloombergNEF, which produces the annual factbook together with the Business Council for Sustainable Energy.

   With [significant changes to U.S. energy policies](https://www.yahoo.com/news/day-1-orders-trump-end-152529444.html) under the Trump administration, whether these trends will continue is not clear.

   “The 2024 Factbook is a snapshot of where things were at the end of the previous administration,” Rolands-Reese said.

   The U.S. electric grid added 54 gigawatts of new renewable power-generating capacity, with almost 40 gigawatts of that coming from new solar installations.

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