Trump is coming for renewable energy—but the solar industry isn’t worried

President Donald Trump has been clear that his vision for America’s energy landscape prioritizes fossil fuels. He has curtailed federal funds for renewable energy—and has voiced his personal distaste for those projects, particularly wind farms. He’s talked about ramping up coal and increasing oil drilling, and he’s threatened to completely undo the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). 

But even amid all that, the solar industry is still somewhat optimistic about its future. Solar just makes sense, industry players say—especially if we need to increase our energy production, and do so fast. 

“I keep on reminding people that solar energy is as competitive as natural gas now, it’s as cheap as any form of energy, and it can be built quicker than any form of energy,” says George Strobel, cofounder and co-CEO of Monarch Private Capital, which invests in renewable energy and affordable-housing projects. 

A solar project can be built within two years, he notes. To get a new natural gas facility up and running takes around five or six years. That means new gas projects that aren’t in development now likely won’t be adding to the energy grid before 2030. That won’t help with the concerns around the grid resilience we’re facing now—and currently, there are “tremendous concerns” around grid reliability and resilience, Strobel adds. Solar, instead, could be quickly set up to provide microgrids that help maintain that resilience. 

That’s why solar energy still appeals to utility companies, and utilities are even campaigning on Capitol Hill for solar energy, Strobel says. “There is some surprising support—at least as far as the [Trump] administration is concerned—for the solar industry, coming from the utility sector.” 

That’s not to say there isn’t uncertainty. The Trump administration’s whiplash actions, including rapidly changing tariff policies and a series of climate rollbacks (a stark change from Biden’s efforts), are creating some instability for businesses at large. “Anytime we have uncertainty, it’s going to create a problem in the industry,” Strobel says. That has caused some solar projects to pause or investments to slow down. But even if that continues through 2025, Strobel expects companies to push back projects by just a year, and for solar demand to pick up again in 2026. (That’s also partially because the current Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expires at the end of 2025, so by next year, there will at least be less unknowns around taxes, and what tax benefits companies will get for investing in renewables.) As time goes on, there also could be more action against things such as Trump pausing renewable permits on private lands.

Tariffs could also affect the solar industry, even as the IRA spurred more stateside manufacturing. Trump has expanded tariffs on steel and aluminum, which could cause domestic steel prices to rise (as they did initially when he enacted similar tariffs during his first administration). That could make solar, which uses steel for its structural racks and trackers, a bit more expensive—even if those structural components are made in the United States. 

Nevados, which makes all-terrain trackers that allow solar panels to move and follow the sun, is currently signing contracts for 100% domestically manufactured tracker systems (the IRA helped boost that domestic production). Even though the company has concerns about tariffs raising prices, it still expects solar to grow. Solar has seen major strides over the past decade: It became nearly 90% cheaper between 2009 and 2019; and for years, it’s been cheaper to create new renewable power plants than operate existing coal plants. The solar industry also saw record growth in 2024.

“The freight train is unstoppable by things like tariffs,” says Nevados COO Jenya Meydbray. Though solar is influenced by policies, its growth, he adds, is really driven by private industry, which continues to see the benefits.

The Trump administration has hinted at restarting retired coal plants, but the business case for coal isn’t there. Even 10 or 15 years ago, utility companies began building out solar in order to stabilize energy costs, says Nevados founder and CEO Yezin Taha, and move away from coal and natural gas, which saw high price fluctuations. As our need for energy increases because of data centers or the electrification of appliances and vehicles, solar is a fast, stable way to add capacity. 

And interestingly, it’s Republican states that have primarily benefitted from the solar industry’s growth. About 85% of the investments in renewable energy from the IRA have gone to red states, as well as 65% of the jobs. By the second anniversary of that bill in 2024, it had already brought $286 billion to Republican-led districts.

Some Republicans have been speaking out for solar, and renewable energy at large. More than 20 House Republicans wrote a letter to the House Ways and Means Committee chairman opposing cuts to clean energy credits. Strobel, who has spent time on the Hill himself, has seen this Republican support firsthand. 

“Most members of the House will tell you, ‘Don’t listen to our rhetoric, that’s for public consumption,’ but there’s tremendous support for solar energy,” he says. There may still be tweaks to the IRA—perhaps removing some labor and apprenticeship rules and increasing domestic content rules—to more align with the Trump administration’s agenda. But Strobel doesn’t anticipate “significant” changes that affect solar’s growth. “It’s got too many supporters, both on the Hill and in the country.”