Donald Trump is presiding over an unexpected clean energy boom, as rising electricity demand spurs investment in new capacity despite the US administration’s efforts to thwart a solar and wind rollout.
Clean energy additions will rise by a record 45 gigawatts this year, according to S&P Global Energy—equivalent to the average electricity demand of Turkey. The increase is roughly 25 percent higher than the record set in 2024.
The US president’s war in Iran, which has driven up global energy prices, along with surging power demand from AI data centers and developers’ rush to capitalize on expiring tax credits, are driving the cleantech boom, said analysts. Trump’s administration has also been pragmatic in the face of its energy needs.
“There was a campaign promise to go against renewables, but at the same time they’re realizing that you can’t do without it,” said Izzet Bensusan, chief executive of Captona, an energy infrastructure investment group. “I don’t see a world where power demand is flattening out.”
S&P said new solar and wind capacity will jump in 2026 by nearly a third and almost 50 percent respectively. Solar will set another record in 2027, while wind falls back before recovering.
White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers, however, touted “record-high oil and gas production” under Trump.
“The president has delivered on his promise to unleash American energy,” Rogers said. “At the same time, the administration has ended subsidies for costly and unreliable energy sources that American taxpayers were unfairly forced to fund.”
The solar and wind additions come despite Trump’s early efforts to kill an energy transition pushed by his predecessor, Joe Biden.
The Trump administration broke up Esmeralda 7 in Nevada. It would have been the largest single solar project in the US.
The president’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act also slashed tax credits for solar and wind, and his administration has interfered with routine project approvals, including for more than 150 onshore wind projects. But under the terms of the OBBBA, solar and wind developers had until July 4 to begin work on projects and until 2030 to finish them.
The deadline “prompted developers to hurry and begin construction,” said S&P Global renewables analyst John Murray.