On August 21st, reported by the China News Service (edited by Niu Zhanlin):
On Wednesday local time, U.S. President Trump stated that his administration would not approve photovoltaic or wind power generation projects, even in areas where there is a shortage of electricity supply.
Trump posted on the Truth Social platform on the same day: “We won’t approve wind or solar projects that destroy farmland anymore. The foolish era of the United States has ended!” He has also repeatedly stated that he will not approve wind or solar projects during his term.
Prior to this statement, the federal government tightened the federal permitting process for renewable energy last month. Currently, all approval rights are under the office of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
Renewable energy companies are concerned that projects that were originally approved in an orderly manner may now be unable to obtain permits. Trump’s comments on Wednesday are expected to further exacerbate these concerns.
Trump blames the rise in U.S. electricity prices on renewable energy. He points out that as traditional units such as coal-fired power plants are being decommissioned and the demand for electricity from data centers and other industries is growing rapidly, there is a supply and demand tension in the PJM Interconnection, the largest grid operator in the United States, which is driving up electricity prices.
In a capacity auction held last month, the price of new power capacity in PJM increased by 22% year-on-year. The PJM grid covers 13 states in the Midwest and South of the United States, and sets electricity prices through annual capacity auctions, where power suppliers compete to meet expected demand in the region.
However, according to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, it is precisely photovoltaic and battery storage projects that can most quickly alleviate the supply and demand gap, accounting for the majority of grid-connected projects in the queue.
Since taking office, Trump has continued to attack renewable energy. His big and beautiful act has canceled multiple clean energy preferential policies, including the premature termination of clean energy tax credits and the cancellation of tax incentives for purchasing electric vehicles. These tax credit policies have played a crucial role in the development of renewable energy in the United States in recent years.
In addition, tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on steel and copper have also pushed up the cost of wind and solar projects, which renewable energy companies have complained about. The U.S. Department of Agriculture also announced on Tuesday that it will terminate support for photovoltaic projects on agricultural land.
Earlier this month, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo wrote a letter of complaint to Interior Secretary Burgum, stating that local solar projects have been frozen by executive orders and arguing that these projects could have supported expanding economies and grid stability.