REPORT: Q3 Market Report Shows Strong Quarter of Deployment, but Signs Point to Long-Term Slowdown Risk
Dec 4 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C. December4, 2025 –The 鶹ҹ Association (ACP) released itsClean Power Quarterly Market Reporttoday, showing U.S. clean energy developers delivereda strong third quarter, adding arecord 11.7 gigawatts (GW) of new utility-scale solar, wind, and energy storage capacity. That isenoughcapacitytopowerover 1.6 million homes–representinga 14% jump overthe same period a year ago. Battery storage alonesurpasseditspreviousQ3 record with 4.7GWinstalled.Thisstrongyear was expected given the strong momentum and policy tailwinds supporting the industry over thelast severalyears.Despite strong near-term numbers,the report highlightshow lingering policy and regulatory uncertainty put the pace of future growth at risk.
“The third quarter’s record results mask an unstable policy environment that is threatening our ability to meet our future energy needs,” saidACP CEO Jason Grumet. “The policy chaos at the federal level has seeped into every part of project timelines, stalling growth precisely when we need to meet demand and keep energy prices affordable for American families and businesses.”
Decline inPowerPurchaseAgreements:SomethingtoWatch
While Q3 posted record installations, the forward-looking indicators tell a more concerning story.Power purchase agreements (PPAs) fell 31% year-over-year, pushing the year-to-date totalfor all offtake types38% belowthe same pointlastyear.
Despite robustdemand for power,buyerslargely saton the sidelinesinthe third quarter,waiting for a clearer policy environment toemergeandthe rules around tax credit eligibility for developing future projectsto be set.Treasury’s long-awaited guidance on transferable tax credits and foreign-entity-of-concern rules only landed halfwaythrough Q3,thiscomplicatedfinancing conversations and resultedinvirtually nonet pipeline growth(<1 %), quarter-over-quarter.
“Demand from AI, data centers, and onshoring manufacturing is set to push U.S. electricity needs to all-time highs next year,” added Grumet. “With swift policy action, this demand can be met with domestic clean energy, supporting U.S. competitiveness in the race for these new technologies.”
Q32025Key Highlights:
- Total Clean Power Capacity Installed: Strongest Q3 on record.Total clean power capacity installed in Q32025at11,695 MWrepresentsa 14% increase YOY. Of that capacity, land-based wind increased 131% over Q3 2024.
- Pipeline Hits All-time HighbutGrowth Stalls: The clean power pipeline reached a new high of 186,185 MWby the end of September, growing 9% YOY. However, the pipeline expanded a mere 1% from the first quarter of2025.
- 2025 On Pacefora Strong Year: Yeartodate,30.9 GW ofcleanenergypowergenerationhas been connected to the grid, up 1GW from the current top year (2024) for clean energy installation.
- Offtake AgreementsinDecline: Clean energy offtake announcements during the first three quarters of 2025 weredown 38%,compared to thesame period in 2024.
- StatesSet toDouble Clean Energy Portfolios:Eleven states have enough capacity in their pipelines to more than double their operational portfolios: Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York,Tennesseeand Virginia.
- Offshore Wind Faces Challenges: No capacity changes during Q3, but moving into the fourth quarter, the offshore wind pipeline will decline, afterInvenergysubmitteda petition to cancelits OREC agreementwith the New Jersey Board of Public Utilitiesfor Leading Light Wind (2,400 MW).
Apublic version of the reportis available on theACP website, with thefull report and underlying datasetsavailable exclusively to ACP members.