Trump blows chill over US wind energy sector

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump has long ranted against wind energy – claiming that turbines are unsightly, dangerous to wildlife and too expensive – with him threatening to upend decades of industry progress just a few hours after resuming power.

“We’re not going to do the wind thing,” Mr Trump said on Jan 20 as he returned to the Oval Office for the first time in four years as commander-in-chief.

“Big, ugly windmills,” he said as he signed a series of executive orders that has brought the sector into crisis, adding that “they kill your birds, and they ruin your beautiful landscape”.

Among the measures were a temporary freeze on federal permitting and loans for all offshore and onshore wind projects.

Mr Jason Grumet, president of the American Clean Power Association (ACP), quickly slammed the move, saying it “increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers”.

After the announcements, wind-related stocks fell into the red.

Ms Elizabeth Wilson, an offshore wind specialist at Dartmouth College, told AFP: “It’s had a real cooling effect on the sector.”

Conflict-weary developers are already “backing away from some of these projects”, she said.

With the move coming at the same time that he declared a “national energy emergency”, some observers have noted a contradiction in Mr Trump’s assault on wind energy.

Though not as robust as in Europe, wind energy in 2023 accounted for some 10 per cent of US electricity production – more than twice as much as solar.

Onshore wind power is also relatively inexpensive, according to experts, with the price per megawatt-hour ranging from US$27 (S$36) to $73 in 2024, far less than nuclear or coal – though rates could fluctuate in the future.

Ember, an energy think-tank, warned on Jan 23 that the United States “risks being left behind in the clean industrial revolution” as major economies such as China are increasingly “embracing wind as a source of cheap, clean electricity”.

It remains to be seen what the long-term effects of Mr Trump’s actions will have on the sector, which has already faced struggles in the US in recent years due to rising costs from inflation and interest rates, along with mounting local opposition to projects.

The offshore wind industry, still in its infancy in the US, is likely to be the hardest hit, according to Ms Wilson, as the majority of exploitable marine areas are in federal waters subject to Mr Trump’s measures.

However, “most of the onshore development happens on private lands where the federal government doesn’t really have any control”, she added.

‘I don’t want even one built’

Days before taking office, Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social media platform: “I don’t want even one (windmill) built during my Administration.”

That pledge has seriously spooked the sector, which is worried he could permanently block subsidies or the environmental approvals needed for certain projects.

Such moves would likely be challenged in court and prompt political backlash.

Michigan Technological University professor emeritus Barry Solomon said: “Ninety-nine per cent of onshore wind power projects are on private lands, and the private landowners generally like these wind farms, and they get a lot of economic benefit from them.”

He noted that the projects are also largely in Republican-led states such as Texas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Kansas and the Dakotas.

ACP also warned that restricting wind development would “increase consumer energy bills”.

Despite the headwinds, some experts remain optimistic.

University of Delaware professor Jeremy Firestone said: “Ultimately... the economics is driving the desire for wind and solar.”

With artificial intelligence, he added, energy needs “are increasing a great deal. So there’s going to be a lot of pressure to continue to build out wind turbines”. AFP