You’re reading the first issue of Solarconomy - a weekly newsletter about what happens when sunlight meets money.

No activism. No doom. Just the economics of the fastest-growing energy source on the planet, explained in plain English.

Every Thursday, we’ll cover the numbers that matter: what solar costs, what it saves, who’s making money, who’s losing it, and what it all means for your electric bill, your portfolio, and the global economy.

Let’s get into it.

Oil hit $100 a barrel this month. The Strait of Hormuz - the narrow waterway that carries roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply - is functionally closed due to the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran.

Sri Lanka is rationing fuel. Puerto Rico, which burns oil for 60% of its electricity, is bracing for rate hikes that could land in April. Gas prices across the U.S. are climbing.

Here’s the thing about solar panels: they don’t care about the Strait of Hormuz.

A rooftop system installed in 2024 is producing the same kilowatt-hours today as it was before the first missile launched. No supply chain disruption. No fuel surcharge. No quarterly rate adjustment.

The math: The average U.S. household pays roughly $160/month for electricity. In states with high fossil fuel exposure, that number is already climbing. A typical residential solar system offsets 80-90% of that bill at a locked-in cost for 25+ years. When oil spikes, solar owners don’t notice. Everyone else does.

This is the solar value proposition that doesn’t require you to care about the climate. It just requires you to care about your wallet.

That’s how much solar capacity the U.S. installed in 2025, according to SEIA’s latest market report. Down 14% from 2024 - but still accounting for 54% of all new electricity-generating capacity added to the American grid.

Read that again. More than half of all new power generation built in the U.S. last year was solar.

The residential segment was essentially flat (-2%), largely because installers couldn’t ramp fast enough before the Section 25D federal tax credit expired under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Commercial solar grew 6%. Utility-scale declined 16% as developers delayed projects to navigate new tax credit timelines.

But the 10-year outlook tells a different story: cumulative U.S. solar capacity is projected to nearly triple from 279 GW today to 769 GW by 2036. Average annual additions: 44+ GW.

Solar isn’t growing because of policy. It’s growing despite policy. The economics are that strong.

Virginia just became the second state (after Utah) to legalize balcony solar - plug-in panels you can buy at a store and set up yourself in an afternoon. No permits. No electrician. No utility approval process.

The bill passed the House unanimously. Bipartisan. Governor Spanberger is expected to sign it, with the law taking effect in January.

What a balcony solar kit looks like:

In Germany, over 1 million households already use balcony solar. Dozens of U.S. states are now considering similar legislation.

Why this matters economically: Balcony solar doesn’t compete with rooftop solar - it expands the market to renters, apartment dwellers, and anyone who can’t afford or doesn’t want a $25,000 rooftop installation. It turns solar from a major home improvement project into a consumer electronics purchase.

The solar industry just gained a new on-ramp.

Solar panels last 25-30 years. The first wave of large-scale U.S. installations is now reaching end-of-life. And right now, most of those panels are heading to landfills.

That’s starting to change:

The opportunity: A functioning solar recycling industry recovers silicon, silver, copper, and glass. The International Renewable Energy Agency estimates solar panel waste could be worth over $15 billion in recoverable materials by 2050.

This is a classic infrastructure-before-the-boom play. The companies building recycling capacity now will own the market when volumes hit critical mass in 3-5 years.

Energy is the largest market in the world. Solar is eating it. And most coverage of this transition is either too technical, too political, or too optimistic to be useful.

Solarconomy exists to cut through all of that and focus on one thing: the money.

Every Thursday, we’ll track the solar economy - what’s growing, what’s breaking, and what it means for your bottom line.

See you next week.

- Solarconomy

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