Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

OKIsItJustMe

(21,985 posts)
Tue Apr 28, 2026, 02:17 PM Tuesday

Trump's attempt to crush clean energy progress not going to plan, experts say

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/28/trump-clean-energy-progress
US generated more power from renewables like solar and wind than gas last month in a first

Oliver Milman
Tue 28 Apr 2026 08.30 EDT

Donald Trump has wielded the full might of his administration to crush the progress of clean energy, which he has called a “scam” and “stupid”. But there are signs this assault is not going to plan.

In March, the US generated more of its electricity from renewable sources such as solar and wind than it did via gas, the first time clean energy has surpassed the planet-heating fossil fuel for a full month nationally, according to data from the Ember thinktank.

While this was just one month, it follows a record 2025 for renewable energy. The pipeline of new power coming online in the US is overwhelmingly green this year, too, with 93% of all electricity capacity added in 2026 set to come from solar, wind and batteries. Just 7% will come from the fossil fuels that are dangerously overheating our world.





Last week, a federal court in Massachusetts blocked a slew of Trump’s anti-renewables actions, such as barring solar and wind projects on federal land. This follows the resumption of five major offshore wind farms, a form of energy the president has long reviled as “ugly”, that the administration had ordered to halt.

2 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Trump's attempt to crush clean energy progress not going to plan, experts say (Original Post) OKIsItJustMe Tuesday OP
MaddowBlog-Amid energy crisis, administration uses tax dollars to scuttle renewable energy projects LetMyPeopleVote Wednesday #1
OMFG! OKIsItJustMe Wednesday #2

LetMyPeopleVote

(181,261 posts)
1. MaddowBlog-Amid energy crisis, administration uses tax dollars to scuttle renewable energy projects
Wed Apr 29, 2026, 05:42 PM
Wednesday

American consumers will pay for the privilege of paying more to turn on the lights, all while polluting our own air during an energy crisis.

During an energy crisis, confronting an obvious need for renewables, Trump admin officials used taxpayer money to scuttle a renewable energy project.

Then they did it again.

And then they did it again.

Total price tag in wasted taxpayer money: ~ billion and counting
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-04-29T20:14:01.898Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/amid-energy-crisis-trump-admin-uses-tax-dollars-to-scuttle-renewable-energy-projects

At the administration’s insistence, the company will instead proceed with different energy projects that will cost more and pollute more — or put another way, thanks to a model imposed by Donald Trump, American consumers will pay for the privilege of paying more to turn on the lights, all while polluting our own air during an energy crisis.

This month, it happened again. The New York Times reported:

The Trump administration will pay energy companies hundreds of millions of dollars to abandon their plans to build two wind farms off the U.S. coast, the Interior Department said Monday, in a repeat of a tactic the government used to cancel other offshore wind leases last month.

The firms will forfeit their leases in federal waters for the two wind farms. … In exchange, the companies have pledged to invest that money in oil and gas projects
.


A related report from The Associated Press puts the price of the shift in total at almost $900 million.

I’m mindful that the president has been on a personal crusade against wind power since he lost a fight a decade ago to block a project visible from one of his golf courses in Scotland. This generated such hysterical hatred for wind power that Trump, in 2019, publicly suggested that the sound generated by wind turbines “causes cancer.”

But that doesn’t make the latest developments any easier to defend. At a time when the U.S. would benefit from more renewable energy projects, the Trump administration is using roughly $2 billion in taxpayer money to scuttle renewable energy projects.
Latest Discussions»Issue Forums»Environment & Energy»Trump's attempt to crush ...