Anne Mayer had wanted to invest in solar panels for years. When she finally purchased her first home in California this past winter, she decided to pull the trigger.
“With everything that’s going on in the world, it seemed like a no-brainer at this point,” she said. Mayer considered buying the panels outright but ultimately chose to go with the TPO model, or third-party ownership, which allowed Home Link Solar, a small residential solar company in her home state, to install and own the system while she pays for the electricity it produces. This arrangement lowers upfront costs and reduces financial risk.
“I thought about buying the panels outright but the model made it a little less scary of an investment,” she said.
Although the Trump administration has allowed clean energy subsidies to expire and even blocked large scale climate initiatives from moving forward, the TPO model has become a key tactic for solar companies looking for new ways to keep the industry growing and make the transition to renewables easier and more enticing for homeowners. Mayer’s decision reflects a broader shift underway across the renewable energy sector. Current industry growth is being driven less by federal subsidies and more by rising electricity demand, the declining cost of renewable energy, and concern over dependency on fossil fuels.
Electricity demand is rising rapidly as artificial intelligence systems, data centers, and electrified vehicles require more power than existing infrastructure was built to deliver. Utilities and private companies are racing to add capacity and renewable energy has become one of the fastest ways to meet that demand.
“A lot of solar and storage companies like us are hiring people,” said Jeffrey Spittel, an executive vice president overseeing investor relations at T1 Solar, a solar energy and storage firm. “It’s a high-growth business. We need the electricity to power AI.”
According to data released by the Solar Energy Industries Association, the U.S. solar industry installed 43 gigawatts of new capacity in 2025, representing 79% of new capacity installed in the first year of the second Trump administration.
This surge in demand has helped renewable energy maintain momentum despite the expiration of the residential solar tax credit at the end of last year which covered up to 30% of the cost of installation. The economics of solar have improved enough that many projects remain financially viable without government support.
“In the current policy scenario, wind and solar are still extremely competitive,” said Zach Whitlock, a senior research analyst at Resources for the Future, a nonprofit research institution focused on energy and environmental policy. “You see them growing because energy demand is increasing, and they are commercial and affordable.”
Whitlock said federal policy changes have had their most significant impact in sectors that rely on direct government involvement.
Offshore wind projects, which depend heavily on federal permitting and regulatory approval, have slowed dramatically in the past year. Some large projects along the East Coast, like Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, were stalled after the Trump administration issued a stop-work order at the end of last year.
The TPO model, once a niche offering, now accounts for a growing share of new installations nationwide. Under the arrangement, a company installs and owns the solar system while the homeowner pays for the electricity it generates, typically at a lower rate than local utilities charge. Investors benefit by claiming available tax credits and long-term revenue from energy sales.
“Our outright purchase is kind of gone,” said Dwight Evans, a solar energy consultant at Home Link Solar. “Now people have to do a prepaid lease where another company can claim the tax credit.”
This shift has allowed installations to continue even as subsidies decline, but it has also introduced new risks. Smaller firms face heavy upfront costs that may tighten their margins. If financing costs rise, installers can face liquidity pressure even when installations remain profitable on paper.
“Things constantly change in renewables,” Evans said. “Every two weeks something’s different.”
Despite the challenges, high electricity prices in states such as California continue to make solar economically attractive for many households. Utilities in the state have raised rates repeatedly in recent years to cover infrastructure upgrades and wildfire mitigation costs, prompting homeowners to seek alternatives that offer more predictable energy expenses.
“In a place like California, it is still advantageous to go solar because the utility costs are so high,” Evans said.
For homeowners like Mayer, the decision to install solar panels was as much about stability as savings. Rising utility bills, global uncertainty and new financing options made the investment feel practical rather than risky.
“The more energy independent we are, the better,” she said.
