U.S. Clean Power Growth Sets Record in Q3, but Long-Term Outlook Darkens

Written by Paul Wiseman for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)

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Summary

Wind, solar and battery capacity grew at a record rate in third-quarter 2025, adding 11.7 gigawatts (GW). But the Trump administration's rollback of Biden-era credits and funding for renewable energy has led to a drop in power purchase agreements, creating doubts that this level of growth can continue.

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U.S. Renewable Power Adds 11.7 GW in Third Quarter

U.S. wind, solar and battery capacities grew at a record pace in the third quarter of 2025, according to the American Clean Power Association (ACP). The three energy sources added a total of 11.7 gigawatts (GW) of new utility-scale capacity, 14% more than in third-quarter 2024.

Battery storage led the way, growing by 4.7 GW. ACP Chief Executive Officer Jason Grumet said in a statement that momentum from increased federal support for renewable energy and storage in recent years powered this year's projects, but the "policy chaos at the federal level" is stalling future growth.

Totals for the first three quarters show that 30.9 GW of clean power generation has been connected to the grid. That's 1 GW higher than 2024, which set the previous installation record.

Capacity Up, Purchases Down, Future Muddy

Headwinds against growth are apparent in the fact that power purchase agreements (PPAs) for solar, wind and batteries fell by 31% in the third quarter compared with last year. The total for all types of clean energy offtake dropped by 38% year-over year.

Power demand is skyrocketing as data centers come online across the nation, but buyers are hesitant to sign offtake agreements due to the aforementioned policy uncertainty on eligibility for tax credits on future development.

For example, in the middle of the third quarter, the Treasury Department issued guidance on transferable tax credits and foreign entity-of-concern rules. This changed the options on financing, slowing total renewable in-the-pipeline growth to less than 1%, quarter over quarter.

While the increase was less than 1% in the third quarter compared with the first quarter of this year, the yearly totals in the clean power pipeline did reach a new high, the ACP said, hitting 186,185 megawatts (MW) by September 30. That's 9% growth for the year.

States of Progress

Eleven states led the way in the renewable energy pipelines. All have enough in progress to more than double their current capacity. They are: Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee and Virginia.

Presidential Pushback Is Part of the Darker Future for Renewables

In July, President Donald Trump issued an executive order following the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, ordering rollbacks on renewable energy funding, saying the order would "rapidly eliminate the market distortions and costs imposed on taxpayers by so-called 'green' energy subsidies." And in August, Trump ordered the rollback of the Solar for All program, cancelling its $7 billion in funding.

Wind energy has particularly been hit by administration orders, as it focuses on coal, nuclear and oil & gas. It has sought to block offshore wind development such as a project on the Maryland coast. And it lost a court challenge to ending an 80% complete installation offshore Rhode Island. For more information, see September 22, 2025, article - Trump Seeks to Block Maryland Offshore Wind Project and September 24, 2025, article - Judge Lifts Trump Administration's Stop-Work Order for Nearly Complete Offshore Wind Project.

Due to these and other challenges, wind power expansion was expected to decline in the fourth quarter, especially since Invenergy (Chicago, Illinois) has petitioned to cancel its 2,400-MW offshore renewable energy certificate (OREC) with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.

Industry observers see challenges for planning, as most projects, from conception to completion, require more stability and predictability than the four years provided in presidential election cycles. On the other hand, one constant, at least for the near future, is the explosive growth of power demand from data centers.

In July, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) in its Annual Energy Outlook 2025, predicted data center power use could triple by 2050. Speaking on that topic, Britt Burt, Industrial Info Resources' senior vice president of research for the Electric Power industry, recently pointed out that rapid growth in data center power use is already well underway. "Currently, data centers consume roughly 4-5% of electricity load in the U.S. This consumption is expected to double or perhaps triple by the year 2030."

Industrial Info is tracking more than 250 U.S. medium- and high-probability wind and solar projects, worth $77.62 billion, that are planned for completion by 2030. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project database can learn more from a list of detailed project reports.

By the Numbers

• 11.7 GW: Amount of new renewable power capacity that came online in Q3 2025
• -31%: Percent drop in power purchase agreements (PPAs) in Q3 2025 compared to last year
• 30.9 GW: Total clean power generation connected to grid in first three quarters of 2025

Key Takeaways

• While new clean power generation set records in the first three quarters of 2025, most of that momentum was based on support from previous funding and regulations.
• Over the same time frame, power purchase agreements dropped, largely due to the new administration cancelling of much of that support. This makes it likely that growth rates will slow in the next few years.

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About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).