Solar power leads 2025 US grid growth, with Ember's analysis showing a 135 TWh rise in demand, 83 TWh from solar, and 61% of new load driving growth.
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Ember Analysis Shows Solar Drives 2025 US Grid Growth, 135 TWh Increase
In 2025 the US electricity grid underwent a notable shift, with solar power carrying a large share of the growth in demand. An Ember analysis finds that total US electricity demand rose by 135 terawatt-hours, a 3.1 percent increase and the fourth-largest annual rise of the past decade. Solar generation expanded by a record 83 TWh, a 27 percent jump from 2024, and that one-vital increase accounted for 61 percent of all new electricity demand. The takeaway is clear: solar isn't just a supplement; it's a central driver of how the grid expands to meet growing need. This finding comes from Ember, a global energy think tank focused on policy-relevant research.
To understand why this matters, it helps to keep in mind the broader challenge of balancing reliability, affordability, and climate goals as electricity demand climbs. The United States is decarbonizing its power sector while households and businesses still expect uninterrupted service. Solar’s outsized contribution in 2025 demonstrates how fast deployment can reshape the mix of power sources supplying new demand, underscoring why grid planning and storage investments are increasingly critical. For readers seeking context on how the industry tracks these shifts, official data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration also show how generation by source evolves over time and how demand translates into pressure on the grid. EIA provides ongoing context on electricity explained and the role of renewables in the mix.
The core numbers paint a precise picture of solar’s rising influence. The 135 TWh growth in demand is the fourth-largest annual increase in the last decade. Solar’s 83 TWh gain is the largest absolute increase among all power sources for a single year, and its 27 percent year-over-year expansion marks a dramatic acceleration in solar activity. Importantly, solar’s 83 TWh jump alone accounted for 61 percent of every new watt-hour added to the US electric system in 2025, signaling a structural shift in how demand growth is met. These figures come from Ember’s analysis of public energy data, highlighting solar as a primary engine of growth in a year of rising electricity use. Ember explains these kinds of analyses in more detail on its site, while researchers and policy analysts routinely compare findings to official datasets from government agencies and journals.
What does this imply for the grid going forward? First, solar’s dominant role in meeting new demand highlights the need for complementary investments. Storage, transmission upgrades, and flexible grid operations become increasingly important to ensure that solar output aligns with when people use electricity, including during peak periods. Second, the result reinforces the momentum behind decarbonization without sacrificing reliability, since solar is now a major contributor to growth rather than a marginal addition. For policymakers and utilities, the numbers emphasize the value of continuing to scale up solar capacity while expanding the tools that can smooth out variability and share power across regions. The broader scientific and policy literature, including analyses in outlets such as Nature Energy, consistently emphasizes the need for integrated approaches that pair solar with storage and grid modernization.
Looking ahead, Ember says solar will remain a central pillar as the decade unfolds, but it won't operate in isolation. The same data that show solar powering most new demand also hint at ongoing shifts in the energy system toward technologies that can pair with renewables to maintain steady service. Researchers and institutions involved in energy transitions continue to stress the importance of complementary strategies: storage, flexible generation, and stronger transmission to maximize solar benefits while minimizing risk to reliability. As grid-optimization science evolves, the 2025 milestone serves as a concrete reminder of solar's growing footprint and the collaborative effort required to translate that growth into a resilient, cleaner electric system. For ongoing context and updates on how the US grid is adapting, see the official data hubs maintained by national energy authorities and the research outputs from Ember.