Trump commits to blocking approvals for both 'scam of the century' wind and solar

President Donald Trump promised for the first time on Wednesday that his administration would not issue any approvals for both new wind and solar capacity, blaming renewable projects for pushing up the cost of electricity.

“THE SCAM OF THE CENTURY! We will not approve wind or farmer-destroying Solar. The days of stupidity are over in the USA!!!” he added.

Trump’s comments imply that during his second four-year term through January 2029 – he is constitutionally prohibited from running for reelection – development of both technologies will be banned on US-owned lands containing some of the nation’s best resource.

If so, this would strand several dozen projects in the western US awaiting approvals from various executive branch agencies and dry up at least $15bn in potential private investment.

Also ominous is the implication that his administration could stall renewable energy projects on private lands in several regions by denying permits for linear facilities like transmission lines crossing federal lands.

This is already what is occurring in the state of Nevada, according to Governor Joe Lombardo, a Republican like Trump, who helped him win the state in the presidential election last November.

In a 4 August letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, whose department manages a large chunk of federal lands in the state, Lombardo said his office is aware that solar projects deep in the pipeline have been frozen and development more broadly is stalled.

Lombardo said while he understood processes to support the memorandum are still taking shape, without clarifying guidance he expressed concern that it will “prevent or unnecessarily delay energy development in the state that is poised to help meet the growing energy demands of the mining industry and data centres.”

Nevada is one of several western states with abundant solar and/or wind resource but limited water, oil, and natural gas.

While bashing wind is second nature for Trump, who has disparaged turbines and the broader industry for years, his escalating abusive broadsides against solar are new.

While always critical of federal subsidy support for solar, largely because of intermittency and what he sees as its poor economic proposition versus fossil fuels, Trump claimed to be a “big fan” of the technology last year as a presidential candidate.

As president, he has come to increasingly view solar as a waste of productive farmland that could be employed to boost production of grains, oilseeds, and other cash crops.

In his mind, such an outcome would help keep domestic food prices in check and allow more agricultural commodities to be sent abroad, helping reduce America’s chronic trade imbalances.

As is the case with wind, most utility-scale solar development is on private property, some of it marginal or unsuitable for crop production or in use as grazing land. Farmers and ranchers who host projects welcome them as steady leasing income to compensate for cyclical agricultural prices.

Trump’s attempt to paint wind and solar as the reason behind rising electricity prices highlights the political vulnerability of both the administration and ruling Republicans on the issue with mid-term elections looming in November next year.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright recently acknowledged this was the case, blaming former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden for pursuing misguided policies that have left the US overly reliant on intermittent resources while prematurely accelerating closure of baseload generators.

All this while demand, which had been largely flat the previous 15 years, is starting to surge and supply is going to have trouble keeping pace. Electric power prices are outpacing inflation nationwide.

Critics contend that is all the more reason to enable wind and solar, whatever their shortcomings, as they are cheaper and faster to build given traditional fossil and nuclear resources face multiple challenges that impede rapid expansion.