President Trump publicly blamed wind and solar power for rapidly rising electricity prices and vowed to block wind and large solar projects. Energy analysts attribute price increases primarily to higher demand, aging grid infrastructure and extreme weather events worsened by climate change. Rapid growth in cloud computing, artificial intelligence and electric vehicle adoption has increased electricity demand, while natural gas prices have risen due to expanded exports and account for over 40% of U.S. electricity generation. Political actions to restrict clean energy incentives and regulatory changes have sparked partisan blame over energy policy and economic impacts on jobs and projects.
With electricity prices rising at more than twice the rate of inflation, President Donald Trump has lashed out at renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, blaming them for skyrocketing energy costs. Trump called wind and solar power "THE SCAM OF THE CENTURY!" in a social media post and vowed not to approve wind or "farmer destroying Solar" projects. "The days of stupidity are over in the USA!!!" he wrote on his Truth Social site.
Energy analysts say renewable sources have little to do with recent price hikes, which are based on increased demand, aging infrastructure and increasingly extreme weather events such as wildfires that are exacerbated by climate change. The rapid growth of cloud computing and artificial intelligence has fueled demand for energy-hungry data centers that need power to run servers, storage systems, networking equipment and cooling systems. Increased use of electric vehicles also has boosted demand, even as the Trump administration and congressional Republicans move to restrict tax credits and other incentives for EV purchases approved under the Biden administration.
Natural gas prices, meanwhile, are rising sharply amid increased exports to Europe and other international customers. More than 40% of U.S. electricity is generated by natural gas. Trump promised during the 2024 campaign to lower Americans' electric bills by 50%. Democrats have been quick to blame him for the price hikes, citing actions to hamstring clean energy in the sprawling tax-and-spending cut bill approved last month, as well as regulations since then to further restrict wind and solar power.
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