Trump and Renewable Energy

I am going to keep hammering on the fact that cult leader, convicted felon, and failed President Donald Trump is cognitively impaired. I know that former President Joe Biden struggled with his own cognitive challenges, and there has since been considerable focus on an alleged cover-up of his issues. But whatever happened or did not happen with Biden in no way justifies ignoring Trump's clear mental deterioration. Simply put, Trump's cognitive impairment is leading to policies that reflect that impairment. I am not talking about simple policy disagreements such as different positions regarding tax brackets. Rather, I am referring to policies that are based on the irrational thinking of a man whose brain no longer functions as it should. Not surprisingly, such policies have poor outcomes. Today, I will focus on Trump's energy policy, specifically with regard to renewable energy, and how that policy is largely grounded in Trump's bizarre hatred of windmills.

At Trump's behest, the One Big Beautiful Bill, that is now law, significantly rolled back clean energy incentives. Tax credits for wind and solar projects phase out much sooner than previously scheduled. In addition, restrictions on the tax credits have been increased, resulting in additional hurdles for eligibility. Wind and solar projects now face an extremely small window for tax credits before they are dropped. Moreover, the Trump administration recently completed a review of construction guidelines for wind and solar projects. As the New York Times reports, "The Interior Department is now requiring dozens of formerly routine consultations and approvals for wind and solar projects to undergo new layers of political review by the Interior Secretary’s office, a policy that is causing significant permitting delays." The Trump administration also withdrew millions of acres of federal waters from eligibility for offshore wind projects. Probably most importantly, Trump has been clear about his antipathy for wind and solar projects. In an administration where Trump's word is treated as law, administration employees will be loath to risk Trump's ire by doing anything to facilitate a wind or solar project.

As I wrote yesterday, simply telling the truth about Trump can make the messenger sound crazy. But again, I will take that risk. It appears that Trump's hatred for wind power started with an offshore wind farm project in Scotland. In 2003, there was a proposal for a new offshore wind farm off the Scottish coast. Three years later, before construction had started, Trump bought land near the Scottish village of Balmedie with the intention of building a golf course. Trump immediately expressed concerns about the wind farm, which he believed would hurt ocean views from his planned development. In 2011, an application for a construction permit for the wind farm was submitted, and Trump filed an objection to the permit. When the permit was granted, Trump promised to "spend whatever monies are necessary to see to it that these huge and unsightly industrial wind turbines are never constructed." Trump then launched a multi-year legal and public relations battle attempting to stop construction of the wind farm. This finally concluded in 2015 with Trump losing his court case and several appeals. The wind farm's construction was completed, and the turbines started producing electricity in July 2018. Trump, who famously hates losing, doesn't seem to have ever gotten over this setback.

Anyone who has spent time around someone suffering from dementia is likely familiar with their tendency to fixate on certain topics. In Trump's case, one of those topics is wind energy. For instance, speaking to Turning Point USA in 2019, Trump went on a strange anti-wind power rant:

I never understood wind. I know windmills very much. I have studied it better than anybody. I know it is very expensive. They are made in China and Germany mostly, very few made here, almost none, but they are manufactured, tremendous — if you are into this — tremendous fumes and gases are spewing into the atmosphere. You know we have a world, right? So the world is tiny compared to the universe. So tremendous, tremendous amount of fumes and everything. You talk about the carbon footprint, fumes are spewing into the air, right spewing, whether it is China or Germany, is going into the air.

In fact, studies show that wind farms significantly reduce carbon pollution from burning fossil fuels and repay their own carbon footprints within six months of operation.

Similarly, during a campaign stop almost a year ago. Trump was asked what he would do to bring down inflation. Trump's response was:

Some people don’t eat bacon anymore. We are going to get the energy prices down. This was caused by their horrible energy. Wind. They want wind all over the place. But when it doesn’t blow, we have a little problem.

More recently, during a visit to Scotland in which Trump was able to see the wind farms from his golf course himself, he launched into another tirade about wind power. Trump was meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to announce a trade deal. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Trump stated, "And the other thing I say to Europe: We will not allow a windmill to be built in the United States. They’re killing us." He went on to say:

They’re killing the beauty of our scenery, our valleys, our beautiful plains ― and I’m not talking about airplanes. I’m talking about beautiful plains, beautiful areas in the United States, and you look up and you see windmills all over the place. It’s a horrible thing. It’s the most expensive form of energy. It’s no good. They’re made in China, almost all of them.

Trump's claim about the cost is wrong. Wind farms are far cheaper to build than nuclear power plants and generate energy cheaper than fossil fuels. Trump also made claims about whales and birds which were also wrong. But the main question is why was Trump talking about this during a meeting to announce a trade deal?

What is clear is that Trump has an unhealthy obsession with wind farms. He has repeated the same false objections for years. His hatred of them has no rational basis. To put it simply, Trump is suffering from a psychosis with regard to wind power. This has led to him having a similar antipathy towards solar power. The result has been anti-renewable energy policies.

Trump's dislike of renewables would simply be disappointing and, perhaps, even humorous if the U.S. were not facing increased electricity demand. As a recent report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration stated, "we forecast U.S. annual electricity consumption will increase in 2025 and 2026, surpassing the all-time high reached in 2024." The report notes that the increased demand has resulted in the creation of new generating capacity and "Much of this additional capacity is from solar and battery storage facilities." Trump's policies will increase the cost of solar and wind energy, discourage new facilities from being built, and result in more expensive electricity. A second report stated that new electrical demand records had been set twice in July. Therefore, demand increases are not simply something to worry about in the future. They are here now.

To put it mildly, combining increased demand with slowed or nonexistent increases in supply is not good for prices. Some estimates are predicting astronomical price increases for consumers. For example, as NPR reports:

In Oklahoma, for example, homeowners, renters and businesses are likely to see electricity rates shoot up by between 60% and 350% over the next decade, according to Energy Innovation. The firm expects rates to rise by at least 48% in Kentucky, 39% in Missouri and 30% in Kansas.

CNBC, using similar data, suggests that the average increase in electrical bills will be $280 a year by 2035. This report included state-by-state predictions which showed Maryland facing a $350 increase and Virginia expected to see a $250 increase. The District of Columbia was not included in the forecast.

The bottom line is that we have a president who is in cognitive decline. He is not making policies on a rational basis, but rather due to a decade-long obsession rooted in not getting his way regarding the view from his golf course. Trump's anger over the Scottish wind farm has festered and grown into a psychosis over which he does not have control. As we have seen, even a discussion about inflation or a trade deal with Europe can trigger a rant about wind turbines. The result is bad policy that is going to hurt our country.