Trump eyes the end of wind energy construction

Energy & Environment

The Big Story

Trump eyes the end of wind energy construction

President-elect Trump indicated Tuesday that he'd like to see no new wind projects built during his tenure.

“We’re going to try and have a policy where no windmills are being built,” Trump said during a wide-ranging press conference at Mar-a-Lago.

This is not the incoming president's first attack on wind power, with his campaign website decrying "insane wind subsidies." But, saying he doesn't want to see it built at all represents an escalation.

During his Tuesday remarks, Trump said that wind energy doesn't "work without subsidy. … You don’t want energy that needs subsidy."

The U.S. government subsidizes energy production coming from a wide range of sources, including renewables, nuclear and fossil fuels.

The Democrats' 2022 Inflation Reduction Act put significant amounts of money into low-carbon energy tax credits as part of an effort to combat climate change.

Now that Republicans have control of Congress and the White House, they may try to repeal or otherwise limit the climate spending passed under their predecessors.

Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power, which lobbies for renewable energy interests, criticized Trump's remarks.

“Whether it’s withdrawing offshore oil and gas resources from development or threatening policies that harm wind energy, American presidents shouldn’t be taking American resources away from the American people," Grumet said in a written statement.

"At a time of skyrocketing energy demand, our leaders must mean it when they express support for an all of the above energy strategy,” he added.

Read more at TheHill.com.

Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.

Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.

Essential Reads

How policy will affect the energy and environment sectors now and in the future:

What to know about Biden’s new offshore drilling restrictions

President Biden’s move to bar drilling across the U.S.’s East and West coasts, while splashy, may not have significant climate or energy impacts in the years ahead.

Full Story

Pentagon blacklists Tencent, largest Chinese EV battery maker

The Defense Department has added dozens of Chinese firms to a list of companies that are prohibited from working with the Pentagon and defense industry due to their alleged ties with China’s military, including the massive tech firm Tencent.

Full Story

Exxon sues California attorney general, environmental groups for disparaging its recycling initiatives

ExxonMobil on Monday sued California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) and a group of environmental activist groups, alleging they colluded on a campaign of defamation against the oil giant’s plastic recycling initiative.

Full Story

Biden expands wind and solar tax credit to nuclear, hydropower, geothermal energy

The Biden administration on Tuesday finalized a guidance that expands a tax credit that has historically applied only to wind and solar power to a range of other energy technologies.

Full Story

Notable and quotable

A few additional key quotes from President-elect Trump's press conference

“We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America,” Trump said. Shortly thereafter, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said she would quickly introduce a bill renaming the Gulf of Mexico.
Responding to Biden's new offshore drilling restrictions that would protect 625 million acres, including the U.S.'s Atlantic and Pacific coasts, Trump said “Take an acre, you have a house on a half-acre or a quarter-acre, or an acre, you have a big deal. Now you multiply that by 625 million acres. It feels like the whole ocean.” The Atlantic Ocean is 26.31 billion acres and the Pacific Ocean is 40.83 billion acres.

In Other News

Branch out with a different read from The Hill:

As many as 23M Americans exposed to toxic ‘forever chemicals’ via treated wastewater: Study

Nearly 7 percent of Americans may be exposed to hazardous levels of “forever chemicals” through treated municipal wastewater, a new study has found. These approximately 23 million people …

Full Story

What We're Reading

News we've flagged from other outlets touching on energy issues, the environment and other topics:

Climate Models Can’t Explain What’s Happening to Earth (The Atlantic)
This alien plant is lethal for the environment. Now it’s being turned into a plastic to regrow forests (CNN)
Musk’s Massive Tesla Lithium Plant Hunts for Water in Drought-Hit Texas (Bloomberg)

On Tap

Upcoming news themes and events we're watching:

Trump's energy nominees could see confirmation hearings next week, Politico reported Tuesday
President Biden's anticipated designation of two new national monuments was postponed and will now take place next week.

What Others are Reading

Two key stories on The Hill right now:

Live coverage: Carter honored at Capitol; Trump fields smattering of questions ahead of inauguration

Former President Carter is being honored at the Capitol, where he will lie in state until his funeral on Thursday morning at the National Cathedral. Read more

Trump threatens economic, not military force, to annex Canada

President-elect Trump said Tuesday he was not considering using military force to make Canada part of the United States after repeatedly musing about the idea of the country becoming the 51st state. Read more

Opinions in The Hill

Op-ed related to energy & environment submitted to The Hill:

The solicitor general climate change briefs that didn’t bark

You're all caught up. See you tomorrow!

Check out The Hill's Energy & Environment page for the latest coverage.

Like this newsletter? Take a moment to view our other topical products here 📩

Topics

European wind stocks tumble after Trump says he will stop new turbine construction

The president-elect went on a lengthy attack against wind turbines during a news conference.
CNBC - 3h
OpenAI's Sam Altman urges Trump to ease power plant, data center construction

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman suggested that President-elect Trump should ease restrictions on data center and power plant construction to help boost the development of energy-intensive artificial ...
The Hill - 23h
Biden expands wind and solar tax credit to nuclear, hydropower, geothermal energy

The Biden administration on Tuesday finalized a guidance that expands a tax credit that has historically applied only to wind and solar power to a range of other energy technologies. Under a new ...
The Hill - 1d
Trump backs massive single bill for taxes, border and energy

Some Republicans have expressed support for enacting two pieces of legislation, instead of trying to stuff everything into one bill.
Politico - 2d
Trump's eyeing Greenland - but other Arctic investment is frozen

While Trump eyes Greenland, Norway and Russia have put the brakes on their polar region investments.
BBC News - 2d
Trump accused of attacking UK energy policies on behalf of fossil fuel industry

Campaigners say US president-elect’s call to ‘get rid of windmills’ is based on North Sea interests of oil and gas firms. Climate campaigners have accused Donald Trump of attacking Britain’s ...
The Guardian - 5d
Moldova faces energy crisis as flow of Russian gas ends

Yahoo News - Jan. 1
Green-Energy Firms' Pitch to Trump: You're Going to Need a Lot of Power

Instead of touting projects as “clean and affordable,” renewables firms are highlighting their projects’ ability to meet energy needs.
The Wall Street Journal - Jan. 1

More from The Hill

Live updates: Trump heads to Capitol Hill after asking Supreme Court to stop NY sentencing

President-elect Trump kicked off Wednesday by asking the Supreme Court to halt the scheduled Friday sentencing in his New York hush money case until his appeals in the case are resolved. Trump's ...
The Hill - 24m
DeSantis, longtime Newsom rival, offers help to California amid wildfires

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) offered assistance to California on Wednesday as the state grapples with severe wildfires in the greater Los Angeles area. “Our prayers are with everyone affected by ...
The Hill - 25m
Mexico's president hits back at Trump over 'Gulf of America': 'We're going to call it Mexican America'

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum dove into President-elect Trump’s chatter of geopolitical rearrangement on Wednesday, proposing a name change for North America in response to Trump’s musings ...
The Hill - 30m
Jeffries: ‘Confused’ by Trump’s ‘obsession’ with Greenland

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) hammered President-elect Trump on Wednesday for what he characterized as an “obsession” with a U.S. takeover of Greenland, accusing Trump of fixating ...
The Hill - 32m
Gingrich: Trump 'trying to project' strength with Greenland talk

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) says President-elect Trump is attempting to project strength with his recent remarks about the U.S. acquiring Greenland from Denmark, comments that have not ...
The Hill - 39m

More in Politics

Live updates: Trump heads to Capitol Hill after asking Supreme Court to stop NY sentencing

President-elect Trump kicked off Wednesday by asking the Supreme Court to halt the scheduled Friday sentencing in his New York hush money case until his appeals in the case are resolved. Trump's ...
The Hill - 24m
DeSantis, longtime Newsom rival, offers help to California amid wildfires

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) offered assistance to California on Wednesday as the state grapples with severe wildfires in the greater Los Angeles area. “Our prayers are with everyone affected by ...
The Hill - 25m
Mexico's president hits back at Trump over 'Gulf of America': 'We're going to call it Mexican America'

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum dove into President-elect Trump’s chatter of geopolitical rearrangement on Wednesday, proposing a name change for North America in response to Trump’s musings ...
The Hill - 30m
Jeffries: ‘Confused’ by Trump’s ‘obsession’ with Greenland

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) hammered President-elect Trump on Wednesday for what he characterized as an “obsession” with a U.S. takeover of Greenland, accusing Trump of fixating ...
The Hill - 32m
Gingrich: Trump 'trying to project' strength with Greenland talk

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) says President-elect Trump is attempting to project strength with his recent remarks about the U.S. acquiring Greenland from Denmark, comments that have not ...
The Hill - 39m