Daily Update — July 29, 2025
US Solar and Wind; AI for Energy Markets; and Private Equity Exit Pressures
Today is Tuesday, July 29, 2025, and here’s your curated selection of Essential Intelligence on global markets from S&P Global. Subscribe to be notified of each new Daily Update.
Energy Transition & Sustainability
June cloudy for US solar, but wind speeds near normal
As the summer heat spreads across the US, the latest energy data reveals a complex landscape for wind and solar power generation. In June 2025, the total operating capacity for wind energy reached 154.0 GW, with monthly average winds up 0.7% compared to the 20-year normal. However, the year-to-date performance remained nearly flat, with a minimal deviation of negative 0.1%. Texas leads in state wind energy capacity with 42,478 MW. The state remains central to US wind energy production as its monthly winds deviated 5.7% above the norm and increased 0.9% year to date.
The total operating capacity of solar reached 138.0 GW in June, despite a 2.1% month-over-month decline in solar radiation. Year to date, US-wide insolation is near normal, at 0.6% above average.
Artificial Intelligence
Listen: Change Makers: Alex Klaessig, Halcyon Chief Data Officer (Ep. 204)
San Francisco-based Halcyon is developing an AI-assisted search and information platform that aggregates and summarizes the regulatory information of US power and gas markets. The sector-specific software is designed to improve workflows and decision-making by energy professionals.
Halcyon Chief Data Officer Alex Klaessig joined “Energy Cents” podcast hosts Hill Vaden and Sam Humphreys to discuss how his experience as an energy expert informs Halcyon product development and why domain specialization improves user experience and generated results when working with AI models.
Private Markets
Private equity exits tilted toward trade sales in H1 2025
While private equity exits via trade sales were down slightly in the first half of 2025, corporate acquirers continued to strike deals with private equity fund managers.
Exits to corporate strategics totaled 1,191 in the first half, down 3% from 1,231 trade sales during the same period in 2024, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. By comparison, first-half IPOs of private equity portfolio companies, another key exit route, fell 31% from the year-ago period. After several years of relatively slow exit activity, private equity fund managers face growing pressure to cash in aging investments and return capital to their investors.
In case you missed it
- US banks' net interest margins are poised to expand, but higher-for-longer interest rates and uncertainty caused by trade policy fluctuations will push credit costs higher and limit earnings growth in 2025.
- The aggregate amount offered of second-quarter US IPOs increased 33.8% quarter over quarter, while global IPO activity was mixed.
Upcoming events
- Navigating the Equity Capital Markets: Insights and Trends for H1 2025 | July 31 (Webinar)
- Australian Property Spotlight 2025 | August 4 (Webinar)
- Datacenters and energy — truths and myths two years into the Gen AI revolution | August 6 (Webinar)