Clean energy faces headwinds but the future is still bright

This has been a challenging year for clean-energy manufacturing in the United States. Since the beginning of 2025, companies have canceled, closed or downsized projects representing tens of thousands of announced manufacturing jobs. One recent analysis puts the number at roughly 48,000 jobs through the first quarter of 2026, particularly in electric vehicles, batteries and related clean-energy manufacturing. The financial losses are substantial as well. Another industry tracker found that companies canceled or downsized nearly $35 billion in U.S. clean-energy projects during 2025 alone — roughly three dollars of investment abandoned for every dollar of new investment announced. Much of the damage was concentrated in manufacturing and off-shore wind. These setbacks are especially frustrating because the need for new electricity is growing rapidly. Artificial intelligence data centers, manufacturing, electric vehicles and the electrification of heating and other technologies are all increasing demand for electricity. The question is not whether America will need more power. It is how we will produce it — and how quickly. There are, however, reasons for optimism. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, developers plan to add about 86 gigawatts of utility-scale generating capacity to the U.S. grid in 2026, which would be a record if all the projects are completed. Solar accounts for 51% of the planned additions, battery storage 28%, and wind 14%. Together, those three clean technologies represent about 93% of planned new utility-scale capacity. Why are utilities continuing to build solar, wind and batteries despite the political and economic headwinds? One major reason is simple: economics. Lazard's 2026 analysis again found renewable energy among the lowest-cost options for new electricity generation in the United States. Utility-scale solar and onshore wind remain particularly competitive, while the cost of building new generation has been rising for nuclear and fossil fuels. In today's environment of rapidly growing electricity demand, renewable projects also have the advantage of being relatively quick to deploy. The global picture is even more striking. The International Energy Agency reports that global electricity generation increased by more than 850 terawatt-hours in 2025. Renewable generation and nuclear power together increased by more than total electricity generation, meaning fossil-fuel generation declined slightly. Solar alone produced an additional 600 terawatt-hours (70% of the total) — the largest one-year increase ever recorded for any electricity source outside periods of post-crisis recovery. China illustrates the scale of this transformation. In 2025, China added approximately 315 gigawatts of solar capacity — an extraordinary amount that exceeds the total amount of solar capacity the United States has installed over its entire history. There is an interesting historical irony here. America pioneered the technology. In 1954, scientists at Bell Laboratories demonstrated the first practical silicon solar cell. That breakthrough became the foundation for the solar technology used around the world today. Other countries are moving rapidly as well. India, Brazil and the Philippines are expanding solar generation, while Pakistan has experienced a remarkable growth in distributed and rooftop solar. This is not simply a climate story. It is increasingly a story about energy security, economic development and the ability to produce electricity locally. The practical advantages of solar are compelling. Modern solar panels generally have operating lives of 25 to 30 years, with relatively little or no maintenance. And there is an astonishing comparison that puts their energy advantage in perspective: a single large shipload of solar panels can generate, over the panels' lifetime, roughly as much electricity as 120 bulk ships of coal, according to an analysis cited by the International Energy Agency. Once solar panels are installed, their "fuel" arrives every morning. I have seen that durability firsthand. My own solar system is now more than 13 years old and continues to perform well, with no significant maintenance. It has been a good investment — not only financially, but also in reducing my household's dependence on fossil fuels. The clean-energy transition will not be easy, and it will not happen overnight. Manufacturing setbacks, changing policies, supply-chain challenges, grid constraints and rapidly growing electricity demand are real obstacles. But the larger trend is difficult to ignore: around the world, investment and innovation continue to push solar, wind, batteries and other low-carbon technologies forward. The United States can either participate in that growth or watch other countries build the industries and capture the jobs of the future. If you would like to learn more about solar energy, electric vehicles, climate solutions or practical ways to reduce carbon emissions, I will be participating in the Kingsport Library's Books and Beyond program. Local authors will be available at Fort Henry Mall, and my time slot is Tuesday, Sept. 8, from noon to 4 p.m. Stop by and say hello. Dave Hrivnak is a retired engineer and author of "Driving to Net 0 — Stories of Hope for a Carbon-Free Future."