Residential solar energy trends upward in Puerto Rico
Solar power adoption is registering an uptick in Puerto Rico. (Credit: Chayantorn Tongmorn | Dreamstime.com)
After contracting in 2024, residential solar installed capacity in Puerto Rico posted a two-digit increase in 2025, ranking second in the U.S.
Last year, local homes installed 329.5 megawatts direct current (MWdc) of solar capacity, up 36.7% from 241 MWdc in 2024, according to the “U.S. Solar Market Insight 2025 Year in Review” report just released by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and global research firm Wood Mackenzie.
Puerto Rico recorded the second-highest installed capacity, surpassed only by California, which had 1,225.9 MWdc of new residential solar capacity. Florida, Texas and Illinois followed with 328.7, 248.2 and 236.5 MWdc, respectively, SEIA and Wood Mackenzie reported. Unlike Puerto Rico, California and Florida both experienced year-over-year declines.
Following a downward turn in 2018 and 2019, residential solar installed capacity in Puerto Rico skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic. It surged 170% to 42.6 MWdc in 2020 from 15.8 MWdc in 2019, and another 137% to 100.9 MWdc in 2021. During the next two years, it grew 98% to 201.5 MWdc in 2022 and 30% to 261.5 MWdc in 2023. However, in 2024 it dropped 8% to 241 MWdc.
MWdc is a unit measuring the nameplate capacity of solar photovoltaic panels before inverter conversion. It represents the maximum output of a solar array.
Solar uncertainty in Puerto Rico
The Trump administration recently canceled multimillion-dollar solar projects in Puerto Rico. The U.S. Department of Energy canceled three programs, including one worth $400 million, that would have installed solar and battery storage systems in low-income homes and those with medical needs, The Associated Press reported.
The projects were part of a $1 billion fund created by Congress in 2022 under former President Joe Biden to help boost energy resilience in Puerto Rico, which is still trying to recover from the 2017 hurricanes that devastated the island’fs already weak electric grid.
AP obtained an email in which Energy said that a push in Puerto Rico for a 100% renewable future threatened the reliability of its energy system.
“The Puerto Rico grid cannot afford to run on more distributed solar power,” the email stated. “The rapid, widespread deployment of rooftop solar has created fluctuations in Puerto Rico’s grid, leading to unacceptable instability and fragility.”
U.S. adds 43 GW of solar capacity
Meanwhile, the U.S. solar industry installed 43.2 gigawatts direct current (GWdc) of new solar capacity in 2025, 14% less than in 2024, SEIA and Wood Mackenzie reported.
The residential segment installed 4,647 MWdc of solar capacity in 2025, down 2% from 2024. In the utility-scale segment, installations declined 16% to 34.7 GWdc, while installations in the community solar segment dropped 25% to 1,435 MWdc. The commercial solar segment expanded 6% in 2025 with 2,345 MWdc of new capacity.
Solar energy remained the dominant source of new capacity added to the grid for the fifth consecutive year, accounting for 54% of all new electricity-generating capacity in 2025, according to the report.
The report projected the U.S. will add 490 GW of new solar capacity by 2036 to total nearly 770 GW, noting that the economics of solar will remain strong as one of the few solutions that can quickly meet surging electricity demand driven by data center growth.
Utility-scale solar is one the most cost-effective forms of new energy generation, and home solar and battery storage remains one of the few ways Americans can take control of their energy bills, SEIA and Wood Mackenzie reported.
Additional insights from the report:
- Current solar capacity in the U.S.: 279.2 GW
- Total solar systems installed in the U.S.: 5.97 million
- Number of homes solar installed in the U.S. can power: 47 million
- Value of solar market in 2024: $67.6 billion
- Total solar jobs: 280,119
- Number of solar businesses in the U.S.: 10,000+
Editor’s note: This page’s Spanish translation was generated using artificial intelligence and may contain errors. For questions or clarification, refer to the original English version.
G. Torres is a freelance journalist, writer and editor. She’s worked in business journalism for more than 25 years, including posts as a reporter and copy editor at Caribbean Business, business editor at the San Juan Star and oil markets editor at S&P Global Platts (previously a McGraw Hill company). She’s also worked in marketing on and off for decades, now freelancing for local marketing and communications agencies.