US electricity demand rose by 3.1% in 2025, and solar generation met 61% of this increase, fully covering the rise in daytime demand, says Ember
Battery storage enabled solar to also supply part of the evening and nighttime demand
Solar growth mainly met new demand rather than displacing existing generation
Most US states still get less than 10% of their electricity from solar, but higher potential exists
The US witnessed a 135 TWh rise in electricity demand in 2025, a 3.1% year-on-year (YoY) increase, of which 61% was met by solar energy generation, covering all the rise in daytime electricity demand between 10:00 and 18:00 ET, says Ember in a new report.
Weather did not play a role here, since the country’s insolation remained unchanged in 2025 compared to 2024, it adds.
Thanks to battery storage, solar also met some of the rising electricity demand in the evening hours from 18:00 to 10:00 ET, the report says, analyzing year-end data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
“The rise of batteries in the US is changing solar from cheap daytime electricity to dispatchable all-day electricity,” notes Ember. “In the last six years, California’s utility solar and battery generation has risen by 58%, yet generation at the sunniest hour of the day has risen by just 8%.”
Most of the solar power is still concentrated in a small number of US states. In the past year, 37 states got less than 10% of their electricity from solar, even though solar is growing fast in some places.
Solar electricity generation in the US rose by 83 TWh or 27% in 2025, with the largest increases in Texas, the Midwest, and the Mid-Atlantic, meeting 81%, 81%, and 33% of electricity demand growth in these regions, respectively. These were also the regions with the largest growth in electricity demand. According to the energy think tank, this means that solar met rising demand, but did not displace existing generation.
Ember points out that the US has yet to see a ‘duck curve’ problem, which means that non-solar power demand is higher during the day than at night, so solar has not yet caused major oversupply during daylight hours. Even at the sunniest hour, solar provided only 20% of US electricity generation on average across the year, the report reads.
Ember’s Chief Analyst, Dave Jones, believes that solar has the potential to meet all the rise in electricity demand.
“Solar in the US is only just beginning. Solar can meet fast-growing electricity demand. Solar growth already met 61% of electricity demand growth in 2025 and there’s nothing to stop it meeting 100%. With the prospect of solar becoming so cheap, solar can also play an important role in reducing coal and gas use rapidly and economically,” according to the report.
The report is available for free download on Ember’s website.