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Trump's Latest Attacks Stun Wind and Solar Industries

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump is escalating his attacks on wind and solar power from the rhetorical to the tangible, mounting a rapid-fire campaign that exceeds the industries’ worst fears.In just the past few weeks, the Trump administration instituted permitting reviews that threaten US wind and solar developments. It imposed standards that would essentially prevent new developments on federal land. It rescinded Biden-era decisions earmarking coastal waters for future wind turbines. And on Wednesday it yanked approval for a massive planned wind farm in Idaho.

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The pace and range of strikes against renewables -- alongside several other actions that serve to prop up fossil fuels and nuclear power -- have whipsawed wind and solar developers that had grown accustomed to federal support. The policies have already helped contribute to the cancellation or delay of more than $22 billion clean energy projects since January and the loss of thousands of jobs, a majority in Republican states, according to an analysis from the E2 advocacy group.

The actions have struck deeper than even some hardened industry players and observers anticipated -- mirroring Trump's more aggressive approach on an array of fronts during his second term. Timothy Fox, managing director of ClearView Energy Partners, once believed the incoming administration might merely refocus government efforts to prioritize power from coal and gas instead of taking aim at renewables.But that "refocus" path is now in the rearview. Instead, Fox said, "we're in the retaliate scenario."

Trump has repeatedly called green energy a “scam” while also touting his focus on “energy dominance” by relying on domestic sources of oil, natural gas and coal. Beyond the words, the actual crackdown on wind and solar comes at a precarious time in the US. Electricity demand is rising quickly because of data centers and climbing use of artificial intelligence, contributing to bigger bills for Americans still stung by broader inflation. Meantime, there’s a backlog in natural-gas turbines and new nuclear power is many years away. Some studies predict the attacks on renewables will shrink potential power generation and lead to higher energy costs.Trump administration officials say the moves are justified to ensure the US has an abundance of always-on power sources. Previous presidents gave too much preferential treatment to wind and solar ventures, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in announcing one policy shift. “Leveling the playing field in permitting supports energy development that’s reliable, affordable and built to last," Burgum said.The broadside against renewables began on Trump’s first day in office, when he froze offshore wind permitting. He’s moved to quickly reverse former President Joe Biden’s climate agenda and the Republican-majority Congress surprised even some GOP onlookers when it phased out tax incentives for wind and solar projects. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

At the same time, the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed rescinding the endangerment finding, a determination that greenhouse gases harm public health and welfare, indicating the lengths it will go to in order to prop up fossil fuels at the expense of solar and wind.

For some businesses, the best strategy is to keep your head down and hope projects can wait out the next three and a half years, another energy industry executive told Bloomberg. Even so, the executive added, that keeps capital locked up and forfeits opportunities for other investment in the meantime.“The proposed federal interference with private economic activity is unprecedented,” said the American Clean Power Association, a trade group for utility-scale wind and solar developers. The policies have created “a troubling challenge for critical infrastructure investment of any kind.”

Mired in Red Tape

Much of the administration’s assault on wind and solar power has run through the Interior Department, which has authority over hundreds of millions of acres of federal land and water, and is currently home to 4% of US renewable energy generation. That figure was projected to increase to as much as 12.5% by 2035, according to a January Energy Department report.

The Interior Department now considers energy capacity density as a key factor in evaluating energy proposals on public lands and waters, the agency told Bloomberg. Each project is reviewed on a case-by-case basis it said.

“Just because some want to frame this as playing politics doesn’t make it true. Evaluating land use efficiency and environmental impact isn’t partisan, it’s responsible governance,” an Interior spokesperson said.

Despite all the new hurdles, big clean energy developers are trying to show investors they can survive the tumult. NextEra Energy Inc. and AES Corp. both said during recent earnings calls that they believe most of their projects have locked in tax incentives.

“I think it will be more difficult for the smaller, less capitalized developers in this environment,” AES Chief Executive Officer Andres Gluski said on an investor call.