By AFP - Agence France Presse
Trump casts a chill over US wind energy sector
Charlotte CAUSIT
Washington, January 26, 2025
Donald Trump has long been outspoken against wind energy - claiming turbines are ugly, dangerous to wildlife, and too expensive - and he's threatening to wipe out decades of progress in the sector just hours after retaking office.
“We're not going to do the wind thing,” Trump said on Monday as he returned to the Oval Office for the first time in four years as commander-in-chief.
“Big, ugly windmills,” he said as he signed a series of executive orders that have thrown the sector into crisis, adding that ‘they kill your birds and ruin your beautiful landscape’.
Among the measures was a temporary freeze on federal licenses and loans for all offshore and onshore wind projects.
Jason Grumet, president of the American Clean Power Association (ACP), quickly criticized the measure, saying it “increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers.”
Following the announcements, wind energy stocks fell into the red.
“This has had a real cooling effect on the sector,” Elizabeth Wilson, an expert on offshore wind energy at Dartmouth University, told AFP.
Developers, worried about conflicts, are already “giving up on some of these projects”, she said.
While declaring a “national energy emergency”, some observers have noticed a contradiction in Trump's attack on wind energy.
Although not as robust as in Europe, wind power in 2023 accounted for around 10% of US electricity production, more than double that of solar power.
Onshore wind power is also relatively cheap, according to experts, with the price per megawatt-hour ranging from $27 to $73 in 2024, much less than nuclear or coal, although rates may fluctuate in the future.
Ember, an energy think tank, warned on Thursday that the United States “risks being left behind in the clean industrial revolution”, as major economies such as China are increasingly “embracing wind as a source of cheap, clean electricity”.
It remains to be seen what the long-term effects of Trump's actions will be on the sector, which has already faced difficulties in the United States in recent years due to rising costs resulting from inflation and interest rates, as well as growing local opposition to projects.
The offshore wind sector, still in its infancy in the United States, is likely to be the hardest hit, according to Wilson, since most of the exploitable marine areas are in federal waters subject to Trump's measures.
However, “most of the development on land happens on private land, where the federal government doesn't really have any control,” she added.
- 'I don't want even one to be built'
Days before taking office, Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth: “I don't want even one (windmill) to be built during my administration.”
This promise has seriously spooked the industry, which fears that he could permanently block the subsidies or environmental approvals needed for certain projects.
Such measures would probably be challenged in court and provoke a political backlash.
“Ninety-nine percent of onshore wind projects are on private land, and private landowners often like these wind farms and get a lot of economic benefits from them,” said Barry Solomon, professor emeritus at Michigan Technological University.
He noted that the projects are also mostly in Republican-led states such as Texas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Kansas, and the Dakotas.
The ACP also warned that restricting wind development would “increase consumers' energy bills”.
Despite the headwinds, some experts remain optimistic.
“Ultimately... the economy is driving the desire for wind and solar energy,” said Jeremy Firestone, a professor at the University of Delaware.
With artificial intelligence, he added, energy needs “are increasing a lot. So there will be a lot of pressure to keep building wind turbines.”
cha/ph/des/jgc
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