OPINION:
Just days after the United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding to open the Strait of Hormuz, Iran announced it was closing the oil gateway once again, bringing further disruptions to shipping throughout the region. Iran has weaponized the Strait for its own strategic advantage, underscoring the larger point that energy security and national security are inseparable.
When oil and natural gas markets are disrupted, countries with strong non-traditional energy industries gain significant leverage. That is why China spent years prioritizing solar manufacturing and why it now dominates much of the global solar supply chain. Beijing stands to benefit whenever countries seek alternatives to volatile oil and gas markets.
Fortunately, the United States is pushing back against this trend. While President Trump has understandably prioritized expanding domestic oil, gas, and coal production, America is also quietly experiencing a solar manufacturing boom that deserves protection.
In 2025 alone, the U.S. opened 70 new renewable energy manufacturing facilities from Texas to Ohio to North Carolina. Even better, by 2030, the U.S. is expected to have over 950 of these plants supporting up to 374,000 well-paying jobs. And many of these jobs will be held by veterans, with nearly 10% of the solar industry workforce having previously served in the military.
This is great news for American workers. A sharp increase in domestic solar production has led to a 33 percent decline in solar imports—a major win for U.S. manufacturing. More solar power made in America means more economic growth, more jobs and lower energy prices.
The Energy Information Administration notes that in 2025, the United States generated a record amount of electricity from non-traditional sources, and that solar power has a well-established record of significantly reducing energy costs. That’s why, as energy inflation surges, solar panels are in demand all over the world. This is a major opportunity for U.S. manufacturers, and it’s good to see they’re taking full advantage of it.
While the U.S. is making progress in rebuilding its solar manufacturing base, it remains behind China, whose years of state-directed subsidies enabled the country to take a dominant position across much of the supply chain.
Other nations like Japan and India have gotten in on the solar game, too. The risk now is that as people turn to solar to meet their energy needs, they end up enriching other countries—especially adversaries of the United States, such as China. This is certainly what China wants. Its vision is to keep the U.S. reliant on Chinese-controlled supply chains for solar panels and other non-traditional energy technologies.
The U.S. can’t let this happen. Solar manufacturing is doing too much good to be handed over to an adversarial power. We need more investment in non-traditional energy and more onshoring of the solar industry so American ingenuity and dynamism can win the future. Solar energy means it doesn’t matter if the Iranians are bottlenecking the Strait of Hormuz. Iran can’t blockade the sun—and developments in storage technology mean solar power can be stored for a rainy day.
The crisis in the Strait of Hormuz proves that having a variety of domestic energy sources – “all of the above” as President Trump has supported – is essential. Bolstering oil and gas without improving our other capabilities would be tantamount to shutting the garage while forgetting to lock the back door. It would leave the U.S. exposed to vulnerabilities that could undermine American energy independence and affordability.
At a time when China is aggressively seeking to dominate the industries of the future, that’s a risk America can’t take. Let’s make America great in solar power, too.
• Ambassador Robert O’Brien served as the 27th United States National Security Advisor. He currently serves on the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board.
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