What’s new
A Climate Power report using U.S. Energy Information Administration data finds Americans’ electric bills are up 13% nationwide in 2025. That’s the national average, but in more costly states like New Jersey, bills are up more than 20%.
The group links higher costs to Trump’s July spending bill, saying it is “driving up utility costs and destroying jobs by removing cheaper, cleaner energy sources from the grid, all while funding new tax breaks for the oil and gas industries.”
Why it matters
Energy affordability is now a leading topic on Capitol Hill and will be a huge deciding factor in upcoming elections. Electricity demand is increasing faster than supply, particularly from data centers. We are simply not able to bring supply on as fast as demand is increasing. Or at least, that’s what we’re being told.
But renewables, especially solar, are the fastest power source to deploy by far. So why is the administration not using them?
The report tells another story: renewable projects that could have powered 13.17 million homes have been canceled since Trump took office. The EPA also terminated the $7B Solar for All program in August, which was directly targeted at lowering power costs for low-income families by paying for their rooftop solar panels.
At a time when we desperately need to bring prices down, we are cancelling the fastest-to-deploy projects so that the administration can hand contracts to fossil fuel companies, and the American people are suffering for it.
The White House has responded by saying that it’s fixing an energy crisis caused by Biden-era policies and that high energy prices are a “choice” by blue states. Climate Power expects that we’ll see further spikes as data centers and extreme heat lift demand while we wait for slower energy projects to come online.
If you’re not so keen on paying for the power needs of data centers out of your own pocket, it’s time to look at home solar. If you live in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, or Delaware, Exact Solar would love to speak with you about how that would work for your unique home.
PA Bright Expands Statewide
What’s new
Capital Good Fund is taking its Pennsylvania BRIGHT solar leasing program statewide, powered by a $3.2 million investment from Candide Group’s Afterglow Climate Justice Fund.
The program helps households earning under $165,000 or living in Low-Income, Disadvantaged Communities to go solar with no minimum credit score and no hidden fees.
Why it matters
With the Residential Solar Tax Credit ending after Dec. 31, 2025, programs like PA BRIGHT will be key to helping low and moderate-income households save money on their power bills by removing upfront costs.
The initiative has already helped more than 60 households statewide past participants in the program say it’s transparent and affordable. Hopefully, we’ll see more states following suit with programs like this as we move into a world with no residential tax credit.
BLM Approves First Solar Project in Five Months
What’s new
The Bureau of Land Management just approved amendments to the $2.3 billion Libra Solar project in southwestern Nevada, the first advance of a utility-scale solar project since the Department of the Interior started requiring Secretary Doug Burgum’s sign-off on clean energy projects planned on federal land back in July.
Why it matters
This breaks a months-long freeze that solar developers say felt like a near moratorium on public-lands projects.
The project, which was previously approved by the Biden administration, sat in limbo for over a year. The revised plan keeps 700 MW of solar plus 700 MW/2,800 MWh of storage, enough to power about 212,000 homes.
SEIA estimates more than 500 projects nationwide are in danger, with 18 states having over half of planned capacity at risk.
Sources
Energy bills in US have increased 13% since Trump took office, new report finds - ABC News
POLITICO Pro | Article | For first time in months, BLM advances solar power project
After a five-month freeze, BLM finally advances a solar project
Pennsylvania BRIGHT expands solar leasing program statewide
