The Trump administration has made it more difficult to build solar farms on federal land, and congress has scaled back tax credits for the industry.
States that voted for President Donald Trump in 2024 count for eight of the top 10 solar building states in the country, according to a new report from the Solar Energy Industries Association that measured new solar development in the first half of 2026. The solar boom in red states comes despite the Trump administration making it more difficult to build solar farms on federal land, and congress scaling back tax credits for the industry.
“Those red states are fostering solar development through their general pro-business attitude and booming electricity-hungry industries, even if they don’t support solar for climate-related reasons. Republican-leaning states tend to have more available land and easier permitting processes for energy projects, [Tim Pawlenty, CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association and a former Republican governor of Minnesota] said. That attractive business environment has also drawn electricity-consuming industries, like manufacturing and data centers, to red states, producing demand for quickly constructed, cheap energy sources like solar,” Austin Corona writes for Grist.
The report ranked the two largest Trump-supporting states by population, Texas and Florida, first and third respectively in solar development. Indiana, Ohio and Arizona have also remained in the top 10 solar-building states since 2024.
Read the full story: More than 70% of new solar is being built in states that voted for Trump
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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