2025 was a banner year for solar power in Utah.
More than 1.2 gigawatts were installed in the Beehive State last year — the most of any year in the past decade.
With the state’s abundant sunshine, high elevation and ample open space, Jennifer Eden with advocacy group Utah Clean Energy said the state may just be scratching the surface of how much power it could harness from the sun.
“Solar is an incredible resource in the state of Utah,” said the organization’s senior climate and clean energy associate. “There's a lot of potential.”
It’s been a growing part of the state’s power picture. Utah ranked 8th nationally for new solar capacity added in 2025 — rising from 36th in 2023. But federal policy changes targeting renewable energy could thwart that momentum, said Sean Gallagher, senior vice president of policy at the Solar Energy Industries Association.
A 2025 Trump administration order directed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to personally approve every solar and wind project on federal lands. The directive also gums up the works for projects on private land, Gallagher said, because developers often need to consult with federal agencies about environmental impacts.
“It's amounted to essentially a ban on permits of solar projects across the country, not just on public land,” he said. “And it's created a real threat to affordability and to America's ability to meet our rising energy demands.”
The Trump administration’s actions could derail 40% of the new solar capacity planned in Utah for the next five years, according to Gallagher’s organization. Around 1,400 megawatts of solar are slated to come online next year, including large projects near Cedar City and Delta, but most of that is now at risk.
It’s a strange contradiction, Gallagher said, because conservative politicians typically favor free markets and spurn red tape. In his view, the administration’s actions go directly against that, and Utahns could face the consequences.
“Residents are going to suffer,” he said. “They're either going to have trouble actually meeting demand when air conditioners turn on in the hot summer afternoons, or they’re going to see the prices go up — or both.”
Utah electric rates already increased by around 6% in the past year, Gallagher said, largely due to rising demand.
“You've got data centers that are planned in Utah. You've got population growth. You've got business growth,” he said. “And as that demand rises, supply has got to keep up, or prices are just going to have to go up.”
Despite solar’s growth in Utah, roughly three-quarters of the state’s power still comes from coal and natural gas. Natural gas prices can vary widely, impacted by wars and storms. Further diversifying Utah’s energy mix could shield electricity bills from spiking now that it’s cheaper to generate power from the sun and wind than from burning fossil fuels.
“Utah prides itself on its inexpensive electricity,” Eden said, “but if we're saddled with fuel costs that are variable and potentially high, that's not going to be good for affordability in the state.”
While solar requires an up-front investment to install, Eden noted, the sunlight that keeps it going is free. As battery storage has become cheaper and widespread, concerns about intermittent reliability have faded.
Plus, there are environmental benefits from transitioning to renewable energy, she said. Scientists agree that fossil fuel emissions are driving climate change, which has made extreme heat and droughts more frequent and intense. Lowering carbon emissions could also reduce air pollution, which plagues Utah valleys.
Unfortunately, Eden said, politics sometimes get in the way of the economics, despite the state’s all-of-the-above energy goals. And when federal or state leaders make solar a partisan issue, that can trickle down to influence how Utahns view it.
“What we don't want to see from the Legislature or anybody else is more politicization of electricity resources,” she said. “If we need resources, we need to talk about what's affordable, what's available, what's clean and healthy for our population and our environment, and not what political winds say is better or worse.”
Other Trump actions, such as ending tax credits for rooftop panels or terminating the Solar for All program, could also make it harder for Utahns to get on board with solar.
Some small businesses that help homeowners install panels have already gone out of business in the wake of federal policy changes, Gallagher said, and companies that have survived are trying to adapt to a new reality. The solar industry supports 7,905 jobs and 132 solar companies in Utah, according to Solar Energy Industries Association data.
“It's still a sort of worthy thing for customers to look at,” Gallagher said of rooftop solar installation. “But those companies are having challenges this year, and we're doing a lot of work trying to help them manage through that transition.”
One way is to help them take advantage of a remaining tax credit that works when customers lease solar panels through the installation company, rather than own them outright.
There are some bright spots, though, such as the 2025 law Utah passed that made it the first state in the nation to support plug-in solar that residents can install themselves.
Also, an April ruling from a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from slowing wind and solar development. That offers some hope, Gallagher said, but it’s unlikely to be the end of the story.
“It remains to be seen exactly how this is going to shake out,” Gallagher said. “We'll be watching the administration closely to see how they comply with it.”
