While the global investment in solar power reached US$450 billion in 2025, the landscape of government support is going through a structural shift. In countries like the UK and Canada, where household grants were the primary tool for market stimulation, the focus is changing to energy security and social equity, with traditional subsidies being replaced by low-interest loans.

However, despite this shift in residential support, funding large-scale solar power projects remains on the global agenda. 

Norway, for instance, in September of 2025, announced that its sovereign wealth fund is seeking to expand its investments in renewable power, including solar. 

The fund has already allocated US$8 billion for wind and solar power projects in Europe, according to Harald von Heyden, the global head of renewable energy infrastructure for Norges Bank Investment Management (the sovereign fund).  

“We will expand into other geographies beyond Europe,” said von Hayden at the Pareto Securities energy conference in 2025.  

The fund currently operates solar projects in Spain and is seeking to improve the reliability of energy grids with renewable infrastructure.

Renewable energy investments in the United States 

Even in the United States, where the Trump administration has canceled or paused programs such as Solar for All (a plan to allocate US$7 billion to fund low-income and community solar projects) and the elimination of most renewable energy tax credits, the administration nonetheless signed an appropriations bill in January 2026 to increase Department of Energy (DOE) funding for solar programs from US$42 million in 2025 to US$220 million in 2026.

On a smaller scale, some American state-level programs continue, including New York’s NY-Sun (primarily involving installing solar panels on farms and community projects) and Michigan’s Renewables Ready Communities Awards, which is not accepting new applications but continues to fund previously approved projects.

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Europe to boost its renewable energy projects as well 

In Europe, the RePowerEU plan continues, hoping to allocate up to €300 billion to boost renewable energy projects, including solar, by the year 2030. Specific projects include:

  • Romania Residential Solar Program - Up to 120,000 homeowners installing solar panels, scheduled to be phased out by mid-2026. The government offered vouchers to cover the costs of the solar panels and storage capacity (batteries). 
  • Modernisation Fund - Spent €1.8 billion in 2025 for clean energy projects, including solar-related ones in Poland, Romania, and Greece.
  • Italy’s 3Sun/Tango “gigafactory” - The largest solar panel manufacturing plant in Europe, aiming to produce enough panels to supply one million households once it is at full capacity.
  • Spain Naturgy Solar & Wind - The European Investment Bank (EIB) gave a €1 billion loan to Spain’s Naturgy Energy Group S.A. in late 2024 for new solar and onshore wind projects.
  • ERG Group Renewables (Italy, France, Germany) - The EIB provided €243 million in late 2024 to build new and upgrade existing solar powered plants in southern Italy to provide 269 MW of energy.
  • France’s HoloSolis - 2025 saw significant fundraising achieved to build a large “gigafactory” to produce solar panels in Hambach, Moselle, aiming to produce over 10 million panels per year once the factory comes online. 

While some countries prefer to continue or reframe their household support initiatives, other nations pivot their focus on the market. 

That being said, EU member states Germany and the Netherlands have reduced subsidies and/or support mechanisms for solar projects starting in 2024, the governments preferring to focus on market-based mechanisms while still advocating for greater use of renewable energy, including solar.

In Germany, the Solar Peak Act (February 2025) suspended all subsidies during negative price periods. Furthermore, the government phased out fixed feed-in tariffs for new solar projects beginning in September 2025, moving to scrap them entirely.

In the Netherlands, the primary program for solar project subsidies known as the SDE++ (Sustainable energy production and climate transition subsidy scheme) has been slowly phased out, the last remaining benefits wrapping up by the end of 2026.

Solar Power Support Beyond the G7

Outside the G7, there are mixed signals in terms of government procurement on solar projects.

India 

For instance, in India, the government is continuing a very aggressive plan to expand solar use under its “National Solar Mission” plan. 

The 2026 Union Budget added an additional INR 5,000 crore (~$551,000) to accelerate household installation of solar panels.

Furthermore, the government has now mandated that all solar projects beginning in 2026 must use domestically produced solar panels.

India has also expanded its Solar Parks and Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects through the end of 2026, aiming to provide up to 38 GW. And import duties have been cut on inputs needed to manufacture solar panels such as lithium-ion cells and solar glass. As of this writing, India has reached over 127 GW in solar capacity.

China

China remains the world leader in both solar panels and power plant equipment (such as invertors) manufacturing and deployment, although it is moving away from subsidies toward market-based mechanisms. 

Nonetheless, clean energy investments reached US$1 trillion in 2025, with solar taking the lion’s share of that, and the government still supports industrial policies and targets to promote self-consumption (of solar energy) rather than exporting to the national grid.

The United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates announced in 2025 that it is going to invest US$6 billion in a solar power project in Abu Dhabi, hoping to achieve 5 GW of output and 19 GWh of battery storage by the end of 2027.

Saudi Arabia 

Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power announced that it is going to invest in solar projects across Africa, including US$10 billion in Egypt and US$10 billion in South Africa. 

Indonesia

In Indonesia, government investments in renewable energy projects (including solar) rose nearly fivefold in 2025. The latest government plan for power development forecasts US$96 billion in spending and subsidies, with solar playing a key role.

Australia

Australia has also seen continued support for the adoption of solar, including the Cheaper Home Batteries Program that offers discounts on batteries paired with solar and the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme that offers rebates for rooftop solar systems.

On a broader scale, the World Bank is continuing its Scaling Solar project, aiming to connect private investors with viable markets and thus help increase solar adoption worldwide. One successful program of this initiative was the construction of a photovoltaic plant in Lusaka, Zambia, that dramatically reduced domestic energy costs.

Overall Trends in Solar Power

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), investment in solar reached approximately US$450 billion in 2025. This was motivated by several factors:

  • Cost competitiveness - As the technology matures and more manufacturing capability comes online, this increasingly allows for profitability even with reduced or no government subsidies.
  • Energy security - Countries like China and India, which are net importers of fossil fuels, are turning to solar to reduce import dependence while also boosting domestic supply chains.
  • Economic drivers - Some countries are funding solar primarily for industrial reasons rather than simply to achieve emissions goals. Countries such as India, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia are continuing aggressive public funding of solar even as it is being reduced or phased out in Europe and the United States.

Even though some countries are reducing subsidies and direct incentives for solar power, overall support from both governments and the public remains strong.

However, the focus is shifting. Solar energy is no longer seen only as an environmental issue, it is increasingly viewed as a strategic priority linked to economic competitiveness and energy security.

As a result, investment is reaching record levels, both in household solar adoption and in expanding industrial production capacity.