Editor’s Note: A version of this article originally appeared on the website of Food & Water Action (our affiliated organization) at an earlier date.

On Inauguration Day 2025, Trump declared a “national energy emergency.” What he really declared was a war on renewable energy. And this war is already doing incredible harm to our health, our environment, and our wallets.

Renewable energy technologies like solar, wind, and the battery storage that supports them have been in Trump’s crosshairs since his first stint in the White House. Now, he’s wielding even more reckless and destructive policy tools to attack clean energy.

This comes as no surprise, given the campaign promises he’s made to the industry and the outpouring of cash it lavished on his re-election bid. Trump’s attacks on renewables work hand-in-hand with his pro-fossil policies — like opening up federal land to drilling and fast-tracking fossil fuel projects — for the benefit of his Big Oil buddies.

This couldn’t come at a worse time. While climate-fueled disasters ravage our country, Trump is striking down the renewables we need. Nothing less than a 100% transition to renewable energy will cut it if we are to avert climate catastrophe and save millions of lives.

Trump’s nonsensical attacks on clean, affordable renewables are dangerous. His actions are putting energy access and affordability, jobs, local economies, and our very lives at risk. Here’s what he’s doing, what’s at stake, and how we fight back.

Trump’s Battle Plans Against Wind and Solar

Since literally Day One, Trump has gone after wind and solar with far-reaching (and even illegal) action. That includes:

1. All but guaranteeing an end to federal support for renewable energy. Trump’s Big Ugly Bill clawed back tax credits for renewables and related manufacturing, threatening billions of dollars’ worth of renewable energy projects. The Trump administration then passed new rules to make it even harder for solar and wind projects to claim federal tax credits, hamstringing our energy transition. These new rules put unattainable requirements on clean energy projects, which will lead many to shutter. Meanwhile, the big Ugly Bill preserved and in some cases expanded benefits for fossil fuels.
2. Stopping wind projects. Trump has declared that the U.S. will see “no new windmills” on his watch and that his administration will stop approvals of solar and wind. He’s halted major offshore wind projects and frozen permitting and leasing for wind projects on federal lands and waters. In late August, he canceled $679 million in funding for offshore wind. 
3. Freezing and rolling back funds already signed into law by Congress. This includes funds from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which set aside $27 billion for clean energy and climate resilience projects. 
4. Taking away cost-saving solar projects from low-income families. Trump has moved to eliminate $7 billion in grants for the Solar for All Program, which would have helped more than 900,000 households gain access to solar energy by funding rooftop or community solar. The program was estimated to save these families more than $350 million a year on power bills.
5. Curtailing support for farmers to build solar. Trump’s U.S. Department of Agriculture announced new changes to stop farmers from accessing the Rural Energy for America Program. This program has helped thousands of farmers install solar panels to lower energy bills and earn additional income.

Trump’s War Will Raise Energy Costs

Transitioning to renewables isn’t just good for our climate and our futures, though that’s pretty compelling on its own. It’s also good for our wallets. 

Solar and wind are the fastest, cheapest way to add new power to the grid. They’re now some of the cheapest forms of energy, period, even without subsidies. 

Cutting support for renewables will result in companies turning to slower, dirtier, more expensive fossil fuels. Utilities will pass these costs onto customers in the form of higher bills.

While campaigning for his second term, Trump proclaimed that, “As President, I will set a national goal of ensuring that America has the No. 1 lowest cost of energy of any industrial country anywhere on Earth.” If he’s set that goal, he’s certainly failing. 

Right now, electricity prices are surging at twice the rate of inflation. Trump has baselessly blamed that on renewables. But in fact, the states with the most renewables have seen lower price hikes or declines, according to Heatmap News.

Meanwhile, Trump’s policies will have a direct hand in making power more expensive. By one analysis, Trump’s Big Ugly Bill alone will have families paying $280 more a year on energy costs by 2035. On top of that, we’ll face greater healthcare costs from staying on polluting fossil fuels and the economic toll of climate change.

People in the U.S. are footing the bill for everything from hospital visits to storm recovery because we’re still stuck on fossil fuels. Rather than support renewables, Trump is stomping them down for the sake of his friends in the fossil fuel industry.

Trump’s War on Renewables is Senseless and Cruel

The Inflation Reduction Act spurred a manufacturing renaissance through its incentives for clean energy. The vast majority of resulting investments and benefits — including thousands of jobs — have gone to red states. Yet every Republican lawmaker voted to gut Inflation Reduction Act incentives through Trump’s Big Ugly Bill.

The impacts will be devastating for local industry and economies. The clean energy industry already began pulling back on new projects before the bill passed, in anticipation of big cuts. Since Trump took office, almost $28 billion-worth of clean energy projects have been cancelled or delayed. 

By one analysis, during Trump’s first six months in office, companies have paused, cancelled, or shuttered solar, wind, EV, and battery projects totalling 19,000 jobs chopped. 

Renewables aren’t just a no-brainer for our health and climate. They’re a no-brainer for the economy. They’ll bring more jobs, investment at the state and local level, and cheaper power for families. But rather than usher them in with incentives that level the playing field against ludicrously subsidized fossil fuels, Trump is pulling us backward. 

To be clear, the solution isn’t so-called “permitting reform” to hasten energy projects, as some Democrats are discussing with Republicans. As Trump’s attacks on wind and solar show, this will only benefit the fossil fuel industry.

Such attacks are unimaginable at this critical juncture of the climate crisis, when we’re already seeing horrific climate-fueled disasters from coast to coast.

The people of this country know that renewables are the future. The vast majority support more solar power. Sixty percent say that expanding wind and solar is more important than expanding fossil fuels. In unleashing his war on solar and wind, Trump is directly opposing the will of the American people.

Fighting Back Against Trump’s War at the State Level

It’s clear that Trump is hell-bent on destroying federal investment in our livable future. While we continue to fight the worst of Trump’s policies from the streets to the Courts, we also know that’s not the only way to defend our planet. 

State action is more important than ever. States have a huge opportunity — and obligation to current and future generations — to pick up the slack and pass bold climate action.

They can pass incentives for real renewables and remove boondoggles from incentive programs. That’s what we’re fighting for in California, to ensure the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard stops incentivizing polluting factory farms. 

They can stop subsidies for dirty energy, one of which we already defeated in New York. After a long campaign with allies, we pushed the state assembly to stop forcing energy customers to subsidize new gas hookups. 

And they can replace fossil fuels with renewables. In the Sunshine State, many Florida utilities are nevertheless clinging to fracked gas and planning to build out fracked gas infrastructure. There, we’re fighting utilities’ greedy price hikes and demanding a fossil-free future for Floridians.

The science is clear: a complete transition to renewables is essential for our climate, our health, and our wallets. While Trump wages his senseless attacks, we’ll continue to fight at the local, state, and national level for the 100% renewable future we need. We can’t afford anything less.