September 16, 2025
It is no secret that the solar industry this year has confronted against a headwind in the midst of increasing rates and the roll -back of useful tax stimuli. However, professionals from the solar industry remain positive despite the difficulties.
On Re+ 2025 last week, Solar Energy Industries Association (Seia) CEO Abigail Ross Hopper was on stage on Monday for the general session of the opening Sia’s challenging national anthem, “not to stop”, “ A clear signal for the more than 35,000 attendees that solar energy is not going anywhere.
Hopper described 2025 as “one of the most challenging periods of the history of our industry” while she spoke to the public.
“We took a big hit this summer,” she said. “I’m just going to be honest. I will address it in advance. We have taken a big hit in the summer, the federal reconciliation law that the congress adopted at the beginning of July, the bill that so many of us have collapsed our hearts and our passion and our time and resources, it was short.”
Hopper said that the bill ‘lasted, did real damage’ to many people and companies in the industry, because projects have been delayed and jobs have been lost.
“We fought together with you, tooth and nail on this account, side by side,” Hopper said. “And thanks to your advocacy, to your presence and your perseverance, you have a sausage-case scenario. Although that may not be the outcome we wanted, that result is to it. That result was difficult to fight and worth honoring. Although we have worked every possible angle to do the outcome.
Hopper said it was time for the solar industry to “play with goal” to tackle the new regulatory and political landscape.
“Let me be clear, the people who are now in power are openly hostile to our industry,” Hopper said. “They use every tool that is at their disposal to slow us down. We have confronted with a regulatory attack since the reconciliation account took place. This administration continues to saddle solar and storage projects with delays, costs and uncertainty at a time when energy prices rise, when worldwide energy systems are harder for every and everything.
“The challenges are real, you. I know the challenges are real. I know that frustration is real and the frustration is justified, but I will be just as clear about something else. It will not succeed,” Hopper added. “Because this is not only about energy policy. It is about the power of the market versus the weight of policy -making. At the moment those two forces have been advanced. In the light of all these challenges and setbacks, our industry will not withdraw.
“We are here, an economic engine of $ 70 billion that employs 280,000 Americans and delivers reliable, cheap electricity to every house and company in this country. We build more power than any other electricity source. This demand explodes from AI data centers, EVs and from electrification.
Four -point agenda for Solar’s Pivot
Hopper explained a four-point agenda for the solar industry to handle its secret sauce while it runs with goal:
- Set storage in the middle: “Storage is no longer a kind of sidekick for solar energy. It is the core of what we offer and who we are as an industry.”
- Double local and state files: “If we are smart and strategic, states have the power to open markets. They have the power to accelerate the permit. They have the power to give companies the certainty they have to invest.”
- Continue to follow the supply chain for solar and storage: “We are now the third largest solar production economy in the world, not accidentally, but because we have made a decision to turn in the right direction, and now it is time to call that. It is time to invest in a circular economy that reduces waste and keeps more of the economic value of energy here at home.”
- Reimage the residential solar experience: “We cannot allow outdated business models and awkward customer experiences the reason that this market slows down. We must concentrate on cost reduction. We need faster installations. We must allow and have seamless integration with storage.”
Re+ vibe control
Two days later Hopper asked for a ‘atmosphere check’ during a round table discussions during a press release. What were the people we talked to about things today and in the future? I spoke with half a dozen large-scale solar developers, financiers and EPCs during the conference and discovered that they were surprisingly cheerful.
Solar builder Many of the answers I have collected on RE+ in our Q4 number as part of a round table with project development, but let me give you a snapshot of the comments I have heard.
Nick Sangmano, president of GS Power Partnersdescribed the market front views as a ‘great opportunity that lies for us’, adding that the regulatory changes – in particular the definition of the start date of the project – ‘a kick in the butt’ Boded to find ways to be more efficient in project development to the point that GS Power has limited the time between playing development and actual.
Julia Bell, Chief Investment Officer CleanCapitalsaid that companies will hurry to get the deadline of July 4, 2026 to start projects and safely accommodate their investments, which will help the industry support. “I think it’s a real boost for production, both here and elsewhere, in terms of everyone wants a lot of equipment,” she said. “I think it can increase labor costs just because we are all on the same timeline now.”
Sabah Bayatli, president of OCI Energy“ Said that the enormous power demand of data centers will prevent the market from being demolished. “I really don’t see anything going down,” he said. “I think what will happen, that people will fully concentrate on projects that can meet the finish line within those four years. So I really don’t see it. I really see the opposite.”
Seth Adams, Senior VP from EPC OP Standard solar energydescribed the prospects for solar development as “very positive” in the future. “Of course there was this time this year in which everyone was a bit nervous,” he said. “Things you could certainly see were on hold, everyone waited a bit to feel things from a political position. But I think ultimately what happened, has led people to start to become more innovative, think differently.”
In addition to building new projects, Cameron Garner, Project Planning section manager on Burns & McDonnellSee increasing opportunities in maintenance and repairing existing solar projects to improve the performance of older facilities.
Although the federal regulatory policy seems aimed at delaying the solar market, the industry itself does not stop quickly.
Tags: Commercial and Industrial, Community Zonne, RE+, Residential solar energy, SEIA, Utility-Scale
