The US installed 50 gigawatts (GW) of new solar capacity in 2024, the largest single year of new capacity added to the grid by any energy technology in over two decades. That’s enough to power 8.5 million households.

According to the US Solar Market Insight 2024 Year in Review report released today by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie, solar and storage account for 84% of all new electric generating capacity added to the grid last year.  

In addition to historic deployment, surging US solar manufacturing emerged as a landmark economic story in 2024. Domestic solar module production tripled last year, and at full capacity, US factories can now produce enough to meet nearly all demand for solar panels in the US. Solar cell manufacturing also resumed in 2024, strengthening the US energy supply chain.   

“Solar and storage can be built faster and more affordably than any other technology, ensuring the United States has the power needed to compete in the global economy and meet rising electricity demand,” said SEIA president and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper. “America’s solar and storage industry set historic deployment and manufacturing records in 2024, creating jobs and driving economic growth. It’s critical that lawmakers continue to support an ‘all of the above’ energy strategy that fosters the growth of American energy sources like solar and storage.” 

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Total US solar capacity is expected to reach 739 GW by 2035, but the report forecasts include scenarios showing how policy changes could impact the solar market. Sudden changes to federal tax credits, supply chain availability, and permitting policy will create uncertainty for investors, increase costs for developers and manufacturers, and cause a slowdown in solar deployment.  

The low case forecast shows a 130 GW decline in solar deployment over the next decade compared to the base case, representing nearly $250 billion of lost investment. A slowdown at this scale could leave the US without the electricity needed to meet rising demand, threatening growth in the manufacturing and technology sectors that rely on abundant power.  

Many of the fastest-growing solar states such as Texas, Indiana, and Florida would see the largest declines in deployment under the low-case scenario. Texas alone could lose out on over $50 billion of solar investment over the next decade.    

“Last year’s record-level of installations was aided by several solar policies and credits within the Inflation Reduction Act that helped drive interest in the solar market,” said Sylvia Levya Martinez, principal analyst, North America utility-scale solar for Wood Mackenzie. “We still have many challenges ahead, including unprecedented load growth on the power grid. If many of these policies were eliminated or significantly altered, it would be very detrimental to the industry’s continued growth.”  

Texas led all states for new solar capacity additions last year, replicating a record-setting 2023 with 11.6 GW of new installations. In total, 21 states set new annual installation records, and 13 states added over 1 GW of new solar capacity in 2024.  

The utility-scale segment saw historic gains in 2024, growing by 33% year-over-year with a record 41.4 GW of installed capacity. The community and commercial solar markets also set annual records, growing by 35% and 8%, respectively. The residential solar market experienced its lowest year of installations since 2021 due to state-level policy changes and elevated interest rates nationally. Forecasts show that the market is expected to rebound over the next decade.  

Read more: IEA: power use to soar through 2027, but renewables will keep up

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Elon Musk has claimed that the Democratic party organized recent protests at Tesla locations worldwide. As he usually does with his wild claims lately, he hasn’t offered any proof whatsoever.

Over the last few weeks, there have been growing protests at Tesla locations around the word.

It started small with just a few locations in the US, but it has since grown to now dozens of locations every weekend, with sometimes hundreds of people at some locations.

Protestors have different reasons for wanting to disrupt Tesla, but they are mostly centered around seeing the company as Elon Musk’s piggybank and they are upset at his involvement in the government through his financial contribution to Trump’s election and his role at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

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Musk took to X today to comment on the situation, and he made the claim that the protests at Tesla locations are funded by ActBlue:

An investigation has found 5 ActBlue-funded groups responsible for Tesla “protests”: Troublemakers, Disruption Project, Rise & Resist, Indivisible Project and Democratic Socialists of America. ActBlue funders include George Soros, Reid Hoffman, Herbert Sandler, Patricia Bauman, and Leah Hunt-Hendrix. ActBlue is currently under investigation for allowing foreign and illegal donations in criminal violation of campaign finance regulations. This week, 7 ActBlue senior officials resigned, including the associate general counsel.

ActBlue is a political action committee (PAC) used by the Democratic Party.

Musk did not elaborate on what “investigation” he was referring to nor did he provide any proof to back up his claim. In fact, he even asked for people to help provide information:

“If you know anything about this, please post in replies.”

Musk directly named Reid Hoffman, his former Paypal Mafia friend turned foe due to political differences, who was quick to deny any involvement:

Just one more of Elon’s false claims about me: I never funded anyone for Tesla protests. I don’t condone violence. But it’s clear Americans are angry at him – it’s easier to explain away their anger, than to accept that actions have consequences.

While the Democratic Party could be sympathetic to the Tesla protestors, there’s no evidence that they started the “Tesla Takedown” movement or have any significant involvement.

As we previously reported, it started as a grassroots movement with some posts on BlueSky, an X competitor, last month.

It has since gained considerable momentum, and they are now using Action Network, an open platform, to organize. As it grew, some groups have gotten involved to organize local protests, like The Disruption Project, which claims to stand “against the unjust systems of racial capitalism, the hetero-patriarchy, white supremacy and settler colonialism.”

In Seattle, The Troublemakers, a local environmentalist group, has also been helping organize.

The biggest blow to Musk’s claim is that there have also been protests outside the US, including in Canada and Europe. It’s unlikely that the US Democratic party would be involved in those.

There are currently six protests planned in Europe by the “Tesla Takedown” in the coming weeks:

Musk has also been involved in European politics, promoting far-right parties throughout Europe.

Along with the claims about the Tesla protests, Musk also retweeted someone linking several Cybertrucks burning down at a Tesla location in Seattle to “Democrat NGOs”:

Again, this claim is without evidence. In fact, the fires are still under investigation and it hasn’t yet been confirmed if it was arson.

Electrek’s Take

Could the Democratic Party be involved in some of the protests? It wouldn’t shock me, but you can claim that without proof.

I think most people involved in the protests are just mad at Elon for any of the hundreds of stupid things he has done or said in the last few months, including doing a couple of Nazi salutes at Trump’s inauguration.

He prefers to think that there’s some grand conspiracy against him because that’s easier to swallow than people hating home for being a compulsive liar, oligarch dork with the sense of humor of a maladjusted 13-year-old.

On today’s challenging episode of Quick Charge, Elon seems serious about rebuilding the Cybertruck that exploded outside the Trump hotel in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, there are questions about Tesla’s record-setting weekend in Canada, and lots, lots more.

In other news, we’ve got a hot tub you can sail around a lake, a 140-ton electric hoverboard from Liebherr, a $1,000 electric pickup from China, questions about the effectiveness of EV rebates in general, and a 0% interest deal on an all-new electric Dodge Charger Daytona.

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