A decade ago, coal kept Utah’s lights on. This past May, solar did.

Utah is coal country. Or at least it was. Ten years ago, coal supplied up to 78% of its power. Now, for the first time ever, solar took the lead, outproducing every other source in the state and accounting for about a third of all power generated. Even better news? Coal is down to 28%.

And it isn’t just Utah. Solar and batteries are on track to make up more than half of all new generating capacity added to the U.S. grid this year. New coal? Zero.

This is what winning looks like.

Solar is now the cheapest source of electric power on Earth, and jobs and investment follow its growth. Utah alone attracted $1.5 billion in solar investment last year. The state now has nearly 8,000 solar jobs, compared with less than 2,000 coal and oil extraction jobs.  As one Utah energy analyst put it, “wind plus solar is on a tear right now.”

So what could slow this down?

The Trump Administration

Earlier this month, the Trump administration moved to stack an additional 15% tariff and price floors on polysilicon, solar cells, and the panels they become. They will start taxing the raw materials of the solar boom starting December 4. The stated reason is national security. The real effect is a higher price tag on the fastest, cheapest power we’ve got, which will translate into higher electricity bills for all.

We already know how this ends. Fifteen years of solar tariffs have pushed U.S. panel prices to more than double the global average. Yet, the factories they were meant to protect still haven’t boomed. And economists who modeled the tariffs found they cost more in lost solar jobs, higher bills, and dirtier air than they ever gave back.

If Washington truly wants an American solar industry, it knows how to build one: support the manufacturers directly. Don’t tax the sun.

The good news? Despite wavering federal support, states like Colorado, Maine, and Massachusetts are accelerating clean-energy buildouts and bolstering their own solar incentives.

The sun also keeps rising whether Washington likes it or not. Our job is to clear the way.

Join us!