US President Donald Trump doubled down on opposition to solar projects in a social media post last week, with solar and storage developers warning that failing to approve new solar projects will lead to increasing energy prices for the American people – a third of US citizens are currently in energy poverty, but that number is now set to increase
US President Donald Trump doubled down on his anti-renewables rhetoric last week saying in a social media post on the Truth Social platform that new solar projects (as well as wind projects) in the US would not be approved. Let’s start by making one thing clear, Trump’s objection to solar is not a matter of principle. Prior to returning to the White House as president at the beginning of this year, Trump had expressed support for solar – during one speech at a rally in New Hampshire in December 2023, Trump appeared to question the viability of PV, but did acknowledge he did “like the concept of solar”. Meanwhile, in a presidential debate with Democrat nominee Kamala Harris in September last year, while expressing reservations about the amount of space PV plants take up, Trump stated categorically that he was a “big fan of solar”. Even the leader of the US-based Solar Energy Industries Association, CEO Abigail Ross Hopper, seems convinced that Trump is supportive of PV technology – in February this year, she stated that “President Trump has specifically said that he loves solar”.
What’s the price of Trump’s loyalty to the oil and gas industry?
Whether Trump holds any of his own views on the US’ energy supply is open to question. What is most likely is that the US president is merely involved in the business of selling off the US administration’s policy agenda to the highest bidder. It is certain that Trump’s public pronouncements regarding support for solar spooked the oil and gas industry, and when executives from the sector asked the price of Trump’s loyalty, the current president reportedly quoted a figure of $1 billion in the form of a contribution to his re-election campaign. The oil and gas sector balked at that figure, but, as it turned out, $450 million (the figure the oil and gas industry spent to influence Donald Trump and Republicans throughout the 2024 election cycle and 118th Congress, according to Climate Power) was sufficient to buy the Trump administration’s backing. As a consequence, Trump’s mind had been made up – he would stake the country’s energy future on oil and gas – though pre-election he still expressed qualified support for solar because, firstly, polling told him that most Republican voters supported climate action and, secondly, the vast majority of Inflation Reduction Act-linked capital commitments and jobs had been in Republican-leaning or swing states such as Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio and Tennessee.
Source: Climate Power
But once Trump had secured his re-election, he simply abandoned the interests of the millions of ordinary voters who put him into office. Last week’s social media post about not approving solar and wind projects will deal another financial blow to the US people in the form of rapidly increasing energy prices. Trump’s comments caused considerable concern among many developers in the solar and storage space – Kevin Smith CEO of Arevon Energy has warned that a power “crunch” now looms because halting renewables development will harm the electric grid and lead to higher electricity prices for customers. Smith added that tax credits for solar and wind projects – which will be phased out following the introduction of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act – were passed on to consumers in the form of cheaper solar energy. Now with solar credits being phased out, the cost of solar power for consumers, which has already more than doubled to $60 per megawatt-hour in recent years, due to increases in interest rates and tariffs, could now hit $100 per megawatt-hour when the tax credits have gone, US solar and battery storage developer Avantus has warned.
Main street America will be hit hard
The oil and gas industry’s buying of Trump’s favour is set to hit main street America hard. The US Energy Information Administration has forecast that, in 2026, the price of residential electricity could be up to 18 per cent more than it was in 2022 (see chart below) and this is before prices become impacted by the decision to stop the deployment of new wind and solar projects. Add the booming data centre industry – and its enormous power demands – into the mix and the number of ordinary Americans being plunged in energy poverty is sure to soar as energy prices increase. Currently, around one in three US citizens report experiencing energy poverty – the clearest indication that the energy system is not working effectively – but Trump’s desire to appease the oil and gas industry for his own benefit means that many more Americans are in imminent danger of having to experience this indignity.
Source: EiA
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