As Americans we love our independence, or at least that’s what we like to believe. In the real world we like to tweak and finagle things in our favor so that they go our way.
This is evident in the way energy policy is being handled by President Trump’s administration. Under the slogan “drill, baby, drill,” Trump is encouraging opening more of America’s wilderness areas for oil and gas exploration. He has also continued to recommend using coal for energy production, referring to it as “beautiful clean coal” despite all of the evidence showing fossil fuel use as a major contributor to climate change. At the same time Trump is removing federal government support for solar and wind energy projects.
The reason for this approach appears to be a combination of political self-interest and a strange, unfounded belief that alternative energy sources are a “woke” plot, and climate change — despite all evidence to the contrary — is a “hoax.”
During the most recent presidential campaign, Donald Trump asked the oil and gas industry to contribute $1 billion to his campaign in exchange for more favorable treatment by his administration. Those companies responded with $75 million in donations to his campaign and affiliated PACs, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. Individual oil and gas executives made individual donations and hosted fundraisers for Trump.
As a reward, Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill Act gave the oil and gas industry an increased subsidy of $4 billion a year, raising its annual subsidy to $34.8 billion.
Though President Trump promised to lower energy costs, energy prices are up throughout most of the country. In June, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission warned that prices for electricity might rise 5%-16%.
At the same time, the Trump administration moved to repeal the residential solar tax credit Dec. 31. Since commercial solar takes years to install, the commercial solar tax credit will remain in place until Dec. 31, 2027. For the full 30% credit, projects must begin construction by July 4. Under the Inflation Reduction Act, passed during the Biden administration, nonprofit organizations may claim the tax credit and receive a cash refund even though they do not pay taxes. The law requires the nonprofit organizations to submit a form about their intentions to claim the credit and not begin installation until receiving confirmation.
Trump is likely taking these actions because oil and gas companies fear they will lose profits to wind and solar energy projects that produce electricity at a lower cost than do fossil fuels. In 2024, profits for the five largest oil companies earned them more than $102 billion.
Trump has often attacked alternative energy as unreliable because its energy production depends on sunlight or wind. He is ignoring the advances in energy storage technologies. In addition, solar prices have dropped so much and electricity prices have risen so much that on a level playing field, solar would win hands down.
Trump has also moved to cut funding for improving America’s power grid that was set aside under the Biden administration’s infrastructure bill to handle all the renewable energy being produced. Since much of the wind power being produced is generated far from where people use the energy, improving the electrical infrastructure is an important way for renewable energy to get to the customers who use it.
The evidence continues to mount that producing a significant amount of a country’s power needs through alternative energy sources is well within reach of current technology. Dozens of countries around the world are doing so.
Of course, the best way to help our energy use is to conserve energy.
In an interview in the April 12, 2019, issue of the Energy Weekly newsletter of GreenBiz, Amory Lovins was asked what people are most missing in the fight against climate change, he responded: “There is an under-emphasis on efficient use of energy, the biggest energy resource in the world, bigger than oil, is efficient use — but it gets no respect and almost no attention. The energy we save reduces the amount of renewable energy we need to adopt to be sustainable.”
He said, “The money spent on energy efficiency is 30 times more effective at combating climate change than doubling our renewable energy output.”
The American people should take a hard look at the Trump administration’s approach to energy. It is likely to raise their utility bills, throw people out of work who were building alternative energy projects and contribute to the dangers of climate change.
I urge Lehigh Valley residents to let their representatives and senators know they don’t want more pollution, fewer jobs and higher electrical bills.
This is a contributed opinion column. Bruce Wilson is a project developer for GEMM Masterplanning, a company that helps commercial building owners make cost-effective sustainable solutions. The views expressed in this piece are those of its individual author, and should not be interpreted as reflecting the views of this publication. Do you have a perspective to share? Learn more about how we handle guest opinion submissions at themorningcall.com/opinions.
