The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has released a sweeping new policy agenda urging policymakers to accelerate solar and storage deployment in order to strengthen the U.S. electric grid and meet the surging power demands of artificial intelligence (AI), data centers, and other innovation-driven industries.
The blueprint, titled “Solar and Storage Industry Policy Agenda for a Reliable, Secure Grid”, calls for coordinated action at the federal, state, and local levels to modernize energy infrastructure, expand domestic supply chains, and unlock investment in advanced storage technologies.
“The reliability of our electric grid—and America’s ability to meet future energy demand—depend on adding more solar and storage to the energy mix,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, SEIA president and CEO. “If this administration is serious about winning the AI race, policymakers must enact commonsense, grid-strengthening policies that keep energy prices affordable for families and businesses.”
Key recommendations in the agenda include:
- Fast-tracking solar and storage projects near AI and data center hubs.
- Reforming interconnection and transmission processes to cut delays.
- Scaling long-duration energy storage research and deployment.
- Supporting domestic supply chains and traceability standards.
- Incentivizing distributed energy resources such as virtual power plants.
- Updating utility planning to treat solar and storage as capacity resources.
The association emphasized that solar and storage already account for the majority of new power capacity being added to the U.S. grid. By shifting policy to focus on reliability, SEIA argues, the U.S. can meet explosive energy demand while maintaining affordability and grid security.
SEIA has also launched a grassroots campaign to mobilize support for these measures, pledging to advocate in state legislatures and on Capitol Hill in the coming months.
