Solar power proliferated in Indiana last year, despite roadblocks threatening the industry’s future in the state.
Last spring, an Amazon-backed renewable project began transforming 100-megawatts worth of sunshine into energy in Randolph County. Subaru of Indiana Automotive decked out a plant in Lafayette with rows of photovoltaic panels and businesses and homes across the state installed solar projects to save on utility bills and reduce carbon emissions.
All in all, the state’s solar capacity nearly doubled in 2025, according to a report from Wood Mackenzie and the Solar Energy Industries Association, a trade group. Indiana saw the 3rd largest solar capacity influx in the country last year, behind energy giants Texas and California.
The renewable boom developed in the face of strong headwinds. Last year, the federal administration dismantled renewable energy tax incentives and canceled millions of dollars worth of grants for solar power. And finding physical space to put the panels remains an ordeal throughout the country: one rough night in a county zoning meeting can halt a project years-in-the-making.
Building solar might be harder in 2026 than it was a couple of years ago, but state officials still see it as part of Indiana’s solution to meet rising energy demand, lower the cost of electricity and keep the climate a little cleaner.
“We benefit when we are open to a myriad of possibilities and solutions for energy sourcing,” Secretary Suzanne Jaworowski, Indiana’s Secretary of Energy and Natural Resources, wrote in an email to IndyStar. “Having a diverse portfolio will help us lower the cost of electricity.”
In the face of the country’s increasing need for energy, some see Indiana’s solar surge as common sense economics. It’s a great way for developers to get a bang for their buck, said Topher Anderson, the director of programs and operations for the Indiana Conservative Alliance for Energy.
Indiana is flat and sunny — possibly to the chagrin of the state’s tourism board — and a complicated network of power lines operates like a massive expressway, shuttling electrons across the region. And many churches, schools and homeowners, burned by high utility bills or racked with climate concerns, have pursued residential solar projects.
This has led to Indiana’s biggest year of solar development yet: In 2025, the state installed about three gigawatts of solar power. Most states added less than one.
Now, Indiana has about 6.5 gigawatts of solar capacity total, which the SEIA estimates is enough energy to power 770,052 homes.
The trade group projects that Indiana is on track to install over 12 gigawatts of solar power over the next five years, but it won’t be easy. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed last summer brought an early end to solar energy tax credits that eased high upfront installation costs. In addition, some rural counties can be hostile to renewable development.
Almost 1/3 of Indiana counties have bans or moratoriums on new utility-scale solar parks. And projects still fail in counties that technically allow development.
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On the other hand, communities that have welcomed solar projects often see financial gains. Renewable projects can boost county tax bases and provide stable income to farmers who lease land. Solar and wind developers have funded schools, emergency departments and youth programs in rural Indiana.
Anderson worries that projects will continue to get caught in the crossfire of local anti-renewable sentiment, but ultimately, he thinks that solar opportunities will prove too alluring for Indiana to ignore.
“I think as long as the underlying economics continue to be good, you’re going to see it keep getting built,” Anderson said.
IndyStar’s environmental reporting is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.
Sophie Hartley is an IndyStar environment reporter. You can reach her at sophie.hartley@indystar.com or on X at @sophienhartley.

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