Powering the Future of Renewable Energy Growth: How Indra Energy Customers Outpace National Renewable Trends

A couple of years ago, America's energy grid crossed a historic threshold: Solar power contributed most of the new electricity-generating capacity for the first time ever. By the end of 2024, 66% of the new capacity that was added nationwide came from solar panels.¹ That was more than gas, wind, and every other source combined.

This quiet milestone signaled a true investment in renewable energy. U.S. investment in infrastructure, consumer adoption of home solar technologies, and corporate stewardship all played key roles in driving this growth. It also signaled a quieter milestone, but one that affects most homeowners today: accessibility. While generating your own power can be ideal, it's not practical or possible for many residents. Neither renters nor landlords have an incentive to install solar panels, because neither experience the full benefit. Some homeowners don't have ideal climate conditions for solar panels, while others can't afford the upfront equipment and installation costs, or payment plans are simply unfavorable to the homeowner.

There are more than 133 million households in the U.S. With just 4.2 million of them sporting rooftop solar installations,² a full 96.8% of U.S. households might be seeking alternative ways to participate in renewable energy. The true intent of home-generated solar power was to generate enough power to give back to the power grid, which is then accessible for everyone to use. More than two-thirds of new electricity capacity generation comes from solar power, making it the highest contributor to available renewable energy certificates on the market.

Solar power's contribution is expected to grow. Fifty gigawatts of power — which is what the U.S. solar industry added in 2024 — can support 8.5 million American homes for an entire year.¹ Industry analysts are projecting the U.S. solar capacity to more than triple by 2035, reaching 739 gigawatts of installed capacity.¹ (For context, solar capacity before 2008 amounted to less than a single gigawatt,³ increasing 17,900% in a decade and a half.)

Three forces have accelerated this transformation:

• First, the economics of renewable energy are now the cheapest form of electricity generation across most of the country.
• Second, corporate demand in data centers, manufacturing, and retail operations has driven demand and long-term contracts.
• Finally, federal incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) unlocked billions of dollars in investment.

Renewable Energy at Home

Energy generation at home has largely relied on solar panels. Adoption of residential thermal and wind technologies will require yet-to-be-realized advances, leaving passive participation the main alternative to home-installed solar panels. The United States grid system was built to share and distribute the excess renewable energy generated by commercial (and residential) initiatives. When excess energy is sent into the grid, it becomes part of the energy grid, indistinguishable from energy generated from non-renewable sources. RECs represent the environmental attributes of electricity generated from renewable sources. They are used to track and substantiate renewable energy use claims.⁴ Certified by independent agencies as generated from zero-emission sources, purchasing RECs ensures that energy is directly supporting the renewable energy shared in the power grid.

Luckily for residents in 18 states across the U.S., they have the power to choose their energy plan and switch energy suppliers. Companies like Indra Energy use the purchase of RECs to offer energy plans that are 100% renewable^* and directly supported by renewable energy generation. When residents aren't willing to or are incapable of installing solar panels, they can instead directly support the generation of renewable energy. Indra Energy offers this option in Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia. Additionally, Indra Energy offers natural gas plans that are 100% backed by carbon offsets* for natural gas customers in Indiana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

Customer Growth: Outpacing the Market

Looking at Indra Energy's customer base can provide insight into solar adoption rates among those supporting renewable energy production, rather than creating it. Overall, passive adoption remains a key ally in the financing of new projects and the actual use of the renewable energy those projects generate. Customers purchasing REC-based renewable energy are one of the forms of passive renewable energy adoption and provide insight into where use may be trending.

Overall, Indra Energy's electricity customer base grew 73% from 2023 to 2024, adding over 30,000 customers across seven markets. The increase in Indra customers was fueled by consumer adoption of deregulated energy choice but drove increased use of renewable energy due to all residential plans coming entirely from REC-backed energy.

Indra Energy saw 2024 growth concentrated in the deregulated markets in which it operates. Specifically, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia were high-growth markets, seeing a combined 78% increase in new customer growth. At the same time, the installation of solar panels in homes across the U.S. declined by 31%.⁵

Indra Energy Electricity Customer Growth (2023-2024) ^{1, 7}

State	2023 – 2024 Growth	State Rate
Massachusetts	+130%	$0.30/kWh
District of Columbia	+112%	$0.17/kWh
Pennsylvania	+81%	$0.18/kWh
New Jersey	+43%	$0.20/kWh
TOTAL	+73%	—

Data for: 2024 Release Date: November 10, 2025
Sources: Indra Energy internal data; EIA state electricity profiles. National avg. rate: $0.17/kWh.

https://www.eia.gov/electricity/state

https://www.chooseenergy.com/electricity-rates-by-state

In states where Indra Energy grew customers the most, there are correlations to outside forces that may have increased customer adoption. The first is that, with a decrease in financial compensation and grants for solar panel installation, residents turned to other options to power their homes. The second is a similarity between states with rising energy rates and Indra Energy customer adoption. The data suggests that energy choice becomes more appealing as utility prices increase. That is, customers have a greater incentive to shop for alternatives.

The Usage Gap: A Different Customer

Indra's residential energy plans are all REC-backed plans, ensuring that energy is purchased from zero-emission sources. In markets with natural gas, Indra purchases carbon offsets to match its customers' use, creating a carbon-neutral energy strategy. This product positioning has made the energy plans popular with more sustainability-conscious consumers. In total, Indra Energy purchased more than 1,16,300 renewable energy credits for its customers in four markets in 2024, a 53% increase over the year prior.

Renewable Energy Credits by State (2024)⁶

State	2024 RECs
Pennsylvania	475,654
Massachusetts	328,784
New Jersey	309,061
District of Columbia	49,361
TOTAL	1,162,859

Source: Indra Energy internal data.

https://www.epa.gov/green-power-markets/renewable-energy-certificates-recs

This 1.1 million mWh of renewable electricity represented by these RECs is enough to power approximately 10,700 average American homes for one year.⁶ It's a meaningful contribution, although modest against national electricity consumption, which exceeds 4 trillion kWh annually.^6,7

Using EPA equivalency calculations, this renewable electricity use avoided an estimated 96,000 metric tons of CO₂, roughly similar to removing 20,000 gasoline-powered vehicles from the road for one year or the carbon sequestered by approximately 108,000 acres of U.S. forest. Since Indra Energy's carbon footprint also extends to natural gas, 100% of the customers' natural gas use is paired to carbon offsets, extending their footprint even further. With 39,000 metric tons of offset, savings in 2024 amounted to a grand total of 135,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent sequestered.⁶

Powering the Grid, One Choice at a Time

The rapid growth of solar and renewable capacity has fundamentally changed what it means to participate in the energy transition. While rooftop solar remains out of reach for many households, the expansion of renewable energy certificates has created a practical, immediate pathway for consumers to support clean energy at scale. Indra Energy customers demonstrate that renewable participation no longer depends on home ownership, geography, or upfront investment: It depends on choice. As national renewable capacity accelerates, REC-backed energy plans allow households to directly support the projects powering that growth.

Indra Energy's customer trends suggest that renewable energy adoption is not only growing but maturing. Customers are not just switching energy suppliers: They are using less electricity overall, adopting more energy-efficient habits, and aligning consumption with sustainability values. The combination of lower average usage and higher renewable credit purchases highlights a distinct customer profile, one that actively reduces demand while strengthening the market for clean energy generation. This behavior reinforces the idea that passive renewable adoption can drive meaningful environmental outcomes when scaled across thousands of households.

The data also point to an important market signal: As electricity prices rise, consumers become more engaged, more informed, and more willing to explore alternatives. In deregulated markets, this translates into greater participation in renewable energy plans and faster adoption than national averages.¹⁰ Indra Energy's growth in high-cost electricity states underscores how consumer choice can accelerate renewable energy use precisely where pressure on the grid — and on household budgets — is greatest.

As the U.S. solar industry continues its rapid expansion, the role of everyday consumers will become increasingly central to sustaining that momentum. Whether through rooftop panels or REC-backed energy plans, the future of renewable energy is being built not only by utilities and policymakers but by millions of individual decisions. Indra Energy's customers show that choosing renewable power today is not just an environmental statement: It's a scalable, accessible way to help shape the next phase of America's energy future.

^*If you enroll on a 100% Renewable Energy plan with Indra Energy as a residential and/or small commercial customer, 100% of your electricity usage will be paired with RECs generated from renewable or alternative energy sources in the United States, which may include wind, solar, hydro, or any other zero-emission sources that have been qualified as such. The amount of RECs that exceed any mandatory renewable portfolio or clean standard requirements may be generated from renewable or alternative energy sources located anywhere in the United States. Indra will retire RECs in a regional generation attribute system — such as PJM GATs for customers in NJ, PA, MD, VA, IL, DC, and DE — or via ISO New England for customers in MA; the RECs are not generated in the state of Illinois. If you select a natural gas product, 100% of your natural gas usage will be matched with carbon offsets.

Data Sources

1. U.S. Energy Information Administration. (n.d.). Electricity data by state. https://www.eia.gov/electricity/state/
2. U.S. Energy Information Administration. (n.d.). Homes and buildings in the West and Northeast have the largest share of small-scale solar. https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=54379
3. U.S. Energy Information Administration. (n.d.). U.S. renewable electricity generation has doubled since 2008. https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=38752
4. United States Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). https://www.epa.gov/green-power-markets/renewable-energy-certificates-recs
5. Solar Energy Industries Association. (2025 YIR). https://seia.org/research-resources/us-solar-market-insight/
6. United States Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). Greenhouse gas equivalencies calculator. https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator
7. United States Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). Renewable energy certificates (RECs). https://www.epa.gov/green-power-markets/renewable-energy-certificates-recs