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A tumultuous year for clean energy as president has had some highs amid many lows donald trump That worked to promote polluting fuels while blocking wind and solar, according to dozens of energy developers, experts and politicians.
Surveyed by The Associated Press, many described 2025 as turbulent and challenging for clean energy, although progress was made in the form of projects connected to the electric grid. He said the development of clean energy must continue to meet the skyrocketing demand for electricity to power data centers and reduce Americans‘Utility bill.
Solar builder and operator Jorge Vargas said it has been “a very tough year for clean energy” as Trump often made headlines criticizing renewable energy. republican A tax and spending cut bill moved through Congress in July that dramatically rolled back tax breaks for clean energy.
“There was a chilling effect this year,” said Vargas, co-founder of And. ceo Aspen Power’s. “Having said that, we are a resilient industry.”
Jose Luis Crespo, president of Plug Power, said developments – both policy recalibration and technological advances – will shape the trajectory of clean energy for years to come.
Energy policy to hit in 2025
Most of the clean energy fortune in 2025 was driven by boosters Joe BidenExiting the White House.
The year started with substantial federal subsidies for clean energy technologies, a growing number of U.S.-based companies making parts and materials for projects, and plenty of demand from states and corporations, said Tom Harper, partner at global consultancy Baringa.
It ends up with subsidies withdrawn, weakened supply chains, higher costs from tariffs and some customers questioning their commitment to clean energy, Harper said. He described this year as a “paradigm changing” year.
Trump called wind and solar energy the “scam of the century” and vowed not to approve new projects. The federal government canceled funding for hundreds of projects.
Republicans’ tax bill would reverse or reduce clean energy programs established through Democrats’ major climate and health care bills in 2022. Wayne Winegarden at the Pacific Research Institute think tank said it was time for alternative energy to demonstrate feasibility without subsidies. (Fossil fuels are also subsidized.)
Many energy officials said this was the most consequential policy change. Lennart Heinrichs said the bill reshaped the economics of clean energy projects, stoking the race to start construction before incentives expire and forcing developers to reevaluate their strategies for obtaining parts and materials. He leads TWAICE’s expansion into the US, providing analytics software for battery energy storage systems.
Jason Grummett, CEO of the American Clean Power Association, said companies can’t invest billions of dollars with so much policy uncertainty.
As a result, greenhouse gas emissions will fall in the US at a much lower rate than previously estimated, said Brian Murray, director of the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment and Sustainability at Duke University.
Still, solar and battery storage are growing rapidly
According to research from Wood Mackenzie, 85% of new electricity added to the grid in the first nine months of the Trump administration came from solar and storage.
That’s because the economy remains strong, demand is high and technologies can be deployed quickly, said Mike Hall, CEO of Enza Renewables.
Solar energy company Sol Systems said it had a record year as it brought its largest utility-scale project online and grew its business. Moving from optional to essential, storage has emerged as a clear winner this year too, said energy storage systems company CMBlue Energy.
Democratic U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse said, “Trump’s effort to manipulate government regulation to harm clean energy is not enough to offset the natural benefits of clean energy.” “The direction is still good.”
The Solar Energy Industries Association said that no matter what policies are in place in Washington, solar and storage will develop as the backbone of the country’s energy future.
This year was also good for nuclear and geothermal sector
Democrats and Republicans have supported investments to keep nuclear reactors online, restart previously shut down reactors, and deploy new, advanced reactor designs. Nuclear power is a carbon-free source of electricity, although it is not usually labeled as green energy like other renewable energies.
“Who Had ‘Restart Three Mile Island’ on Their 2025 Bingo Card?”. inquired Baringa partner David Shepherd. The Pennsylvania plant was the site of the nation’s worst commercial nuclear power accident in 1979. The Energy Department is offering $1 billion in loans to help restart.
Everyone loves nuclear power, said Darrin Kaiser, executive vice president of Edelman. It helps that the technology of small, modular reactors is beginning to be successful, Kaiser said.
Benton Arnett, a senior director at the Nuclear Energy Institute, said that as the need for clean, reliable electricity grows, “we will look to the work being done now as laying the foundation.”
The Trump administration also supports geothermal energy, and has largely preserved geothermal tax credits in the tax bill. The Geothermal Rising Association said technologies are continuing to mature and produce, making 2025 a breakthrough year.
Offshore wind has had a terrible year
Joey Lang, senior managing director of Trio, a global sustainability and energy advisory firm, said that just as the industry was beginning to gain momentum, offshore wind has slowed in the United States.
The Trump administration halted construction on major offshore wind farms, revoked wind energy permits and permitting, canceled plans to use large areas of federal waters for new offshore wind development, and halted federal funding for offshore wind projects.
Eric Fishgrund, founder and CEO of FishTank PR, said this has decimated projects, developers and tech innovators and no one is raising or spending capital. Still, Fischgrund said he remains optimistic as the world moves toward clean energy.
More clean energy is needed in 2026
Former Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu said an energy strategy with a diverse mix of sources is the only way forward as demand from data centers and other sources increases and people demand affordable, reliable power. Landrieu, now with Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future, said promoting or penalizing specific energy technologies on ideological grounds is not sustainable.
Experts expect solar and battery storage to continue growing into 2026 to quickly and cheaply add much more power to the grid. The market will continue to ensure that most new electricity is renewable, said Amanda Levine, director of policy analysis for the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Hilary Bright, executive director of Turn Forward, believes offshore wind will still play an important role. It is both ready and necessary to help meet electricity demand in the new year, which will become increasingly clear “to all viewers,” he said. Turn Forward Supporters for Offshore Wind.
That skyrocketing demand is “shaking the political calculations that drove the administration’s early policy decisions around renewable energy,” he said.
BlueWave CEO Sean Finnerty believes states, feeling pressure to deliver affordable, reliable power, will accelerate clean energy adoption in 2026 by streamlining the permitting and grid-connection processes and reducing the cost of things like permits and fees.
Ed Gunn, Lunar Energy’s vice president of revenue, said the industry has faced tough years before.
“The fundamentals remain unchanged,” Gunn said, “there is massive value in clean energy.”
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