Climate Action
5 Ways the Trump Administration Is Trying to Kill Renewable Energy (And Why It’s a Terrible Idea)
October 22, 2025
It’s hard to believe this is still up for debate, but let’s talk about clean, affordable energy that creates jobs, will power data centers and keep our energy costs down.
Renewable energy is no longer a fringe idea; it’s a booming, unstoppable force in the global economy. In the U.S. alone, electricity from solar, wind, and hydropower provided over 22% of total electricity generation in 2024, and globally the generation from renewables just surpassed that of coal for the first time the same year. These renewable energy sources are not some pipe dream, they’re here and growing.
Jobs? The clean energy industry employs more than 3.56 million Americans; for every million dollars invested in renewable energy, solar alone provides 2.7 times the number of jobs than fossil fuels. Over the next decade, wind turbine technicians and solar photovoltaic installers are projected to be among the fastest-growing occupations in the U.S. economy, offering competitive pay and improved safety compared to many other jobs.
And these benefits don’t even factor in how renewable energy significantly reduces air pollution, which in turn will help to lower the estimated $820 billion spent in annual health costs, caused by fossil fuel use (as of 2021). From a financial standpoint alone, adopting renewables is a no-brainer.
But instead of leaning into the prospect of the U.S. becoming a world leader in this new energy technology, the Trump administration is digging in its heels, and doing everything it can to sabotage this progress and back 19th century fossil fuels. Not just with incorrect statements that influence public perception (like Trump’s claim that wind turbine noise causes cancer), but with actual policy that blocks and delays clean energy projects.
We don’t want wind, and we don’t want solar because they’re a blight on our country. They hurt our country very badly, and smart countries don’t use it.
President Donald J. Trump- Forbes
Given that Great Britain invented the steam engine – the key to the Industrial Revolution, the locomotive, the World Wide Web, the telephone, television, the concept of vaccinations, the jet engine, the Hovercraft, antibiotics, discovered the structure of DNA, and invented radar – amongst many other things – we can be pretty assured that Britain is a ‘smart county’. And what is this smart country doing now? Rapidly embracing renewables, which accounts for 50%of its electricity generation.
Here are five ways the Trump administration is trying to kill renewable energy and set the United States backwards in the energy industry:
1. The One Big Beautiful Bill – Spending Billions to Fall Behind
Subsidizing fossil fuels in 2025 is like investing in Blockbuster while Netflix takes off…but that’s exactly what this administration is doing.
The 2025 “One Big Beautiful Bill” significantly increased federal subsidies for fossil fuels. According to a report by Oil Change International, the bill added nearly $40 billion in new subsidies over the next decade, raising the annual total to at least $34.8 billion. This includes $4 billion in additional subsidies each year, marking the largest single-year increase in fossil fuel subsidies in recent years.
At the state level, fossil fuels rack up more public money. Texas handed out approximately $1.4 billion in 2023 alone. In Wyoming, taxpayers could be on the hook for up to $900 million to clean up abandoned oil and gas wells, because fossil fuel companies aren’t required to set aside nearly enough money to cover the cost of plugging them. In Jefferson City, Wyoming alone, taxpayers are looking at a $35,000 clean up. A report from Public Citizen estimates that cleaning up over 89,000 wells on federal lands could cost between $2.9 billion and $17.7 billion, with the highest costs concentrated in states like New Mexico and Wyoming. Across the board, the public is footing the bill so that wealthy oil companies can keep drilling.
What are we getting for all this public spending? Not energy security. Not price stability. While subsidies could be justified politically as tools for energy affordability and security, they are failing on both fronts. The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) notes that fossil fuel subsidies distort markets and undermine energy diversification, leaving countries more vulnerable to global supply shocks.
Recent global oil and gas volatility, compounded by geopolitical tensions around the world, shows that fossil fuel price swings persist even when producers receive large publicly funded subsidies. In other words, subsidies stabilize corporate margins, not consumer prices we all pay. One of the reasons U.S. oil and gas production is still considered profitable is because of these vast subsidies. Over 60% percent of fossil fuel companies are still dependent on government support that we all pay for. That’s not a healthy market.
The amount of solar energy received by Earth could power a civilization over 100 times larger than ours!
Elon Musk
Our oil-based society depends on non-renewable resources. It requires relentless probing into vast reaches of pristine land, sacrificing vital bioregions, and irreplaceable cultures… We must all move shoulder to shoulder in a unified front to show this administration that the true majority of people are willing to vote for a cleaner environment and won’t back down.
Leonardo Dicaprio, Founder, The Leonardo DiCaprio FoundationRenewables are the answer to our energy independence and have historically received less federal support than fossil fuels. We have still seen renewable energy projects and generation capacity increasing exponentially. Imagine how much progress we could make if even a fraction spent on fossil fuel subsidies were redirected to renewables; lower electricity cost, creation of tens of thousands of new jobs, and true energy independence.
2. Trying to Kick Wind and Solar Off Public Lands
In August 2025, the Department of the Interior (DOI) issued Secretarial Order No. 3438, instructing agencies to reevaluate whether federal lands should be used for solar and wind projects. The new criteria prioritize “capacity density”, or how much energy you can get per area.
Our oil-based society depends on non-renewable resources. It requires relentless probing into vast reaches of pristine land, sacrificing vital bioregions, and irreplaceable cultures… We must all move shoulder to shoulder in a unified front to show this administration that the true majority of people are willing to vote for a cleaner environment and won’t back down.
Leonardo Dicaprio, Founder, The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation
It sounds logical to want to limit our use of resources, until you realize it’s a smokescreen. According to a 2017 report, wind and solar need more space per megawatt, but they come with no risk of oil spills and virtually no risk of other pollutants.
Fossil fuel drilling, on the other hand, leaves behind polluted air, poisoned water, and soil erosion. Because of this once the fossil fuel companies leave the land they leave behind is often left unusable for decades or even centuries. In contrast, renewable energy projects stay confined to the same pieces of land decades without depleting or contaminating it.
3. They’re Undermining Offshore Wind
On August 8, 2025, the Trump administration launched a full review of all offshore wind regulations, including projects already underway. Officials claim they want to ensure compliance with Trump’s “energy dominance” agenda and eliminate “preferential treatment” for offshore wind.
Offshore wind is a massive opportunity for the U.S. It could generate more than 2,000 GW of power by 2050, nearly double the current U.S. electricity demand. And it’s not some distant dream. As of 2024, there was an increase of over 27 GW of offshore wind projects in the pipeline, representing tens of thousands of jobs and billions in investment.
Killing these projects doesn’t just waste potential, it hands the future to other countries. The UK, Germany, and China are all aggressively expanding offshore wind projects, while the U.S. stalls. In fact, China already leads the world in installed offshore wind capacity. If we keep dragging our feet, we lose our shot at global leadership and homegrown clean energy jobs.
4. They Eliminated the Renewable Leasing Schedule, So Developers Are Left Guessing
On August 5, 2025, the Department of the Interior (DOI) axed a rule that required the government to publish a 5-year renewable energy leasing schedule. This schedule kept things clear and predictable for companies investing money into clean energy projects on federal land – information that is essential to any investor.
Renewable energy projects have a lot of moving parts and so take time and dedication to plan, finance, and build. Without a leasing schedule, developers face costly delays and regulatory uncertainty that can derail entire projects.
For perspective, the permitting process for building a large solar project on federal land usually takes about 3 to 5 years; that includes picking a location, environmental reviews, and hooking it up to the power grid. But without a clear and predictable process, a lot of that time gets wasted just waiting for approvals or decisions that might never happen.
5. They’re Burying Every Wind and Solar Project in Red Tape
In July 2025, DOI leadership mandated that all wind and solar decisions be subjected to multi-agency review, including sign-off by the Secretary of the Interior. Again they claim it’s about ending “preferential treatment” for renewables while fossil fuels still get faster reviews and much larger subsidies.
This new red tape seems designed to specifically delay clean energy development, while fossil fuel projects continue to sail through the system, under Trump’s “energy dominance” policy. Meanwhile, the world is heating up and energy prices for U.S consumers are rising fast.
An Unstoppable Movement
100 percent renewable energy is 100 percent American.Mark Ruffalo
Despite renewable energy’s numerous benefits, the Trump administration is doing everything it can to put the brakes on progress; rigging the rules, rewriting policies, and pushing red tape, all in the name of protecting outdated, polluting industries.This isn’t just short-sighted. It’s dangerous.
The fossil fuel industry has poured $96 million in donations, lobbying and advertisements that directly supported Trump’s re-election campaign and affiliated PACs. Some administration officials even hold personal financial stakes in fossil fuel operations, like Interior Secretary Doug Burgum (whose approval is needed for all wind and solar projects), and profits from oil leases on his own land.
But here’s the good news: we don’t have to accept it.
If you believe in clean air, good jobs, and a future that runs on common sense, sign the Our Power, Our Planet petition to demand renewable energy now. Send a message to your state lawmakers asking them to stand up against the rollbacks and invest in renewable energy.
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