| | | ENERGY EXPERTS CONDEMN TRUMP GOV POLICY FOR HANDING CHINA AN ENERGY ADVANTAGE: 'We are going to be artificially left behind'
Energy experts condemn federal government policy for handing China an energy dominance advantage: 'We are going to be artificially left behind'
Story by Mike Taylor
• 12h •
3 min read
A U.S. Department of Energy report raised questions about the Trump administration's push to put the country's renewable energy transition on the back burner.
What's happening?The July Resource Adequacy Report "recycled familiar, but flawed, talking points against renewable energy, warranting a closer look at the facts behind the rhetoric," EnergySage reported. The administration props up fossil fuels as a solution to meet rising demand spurred by the massive growth of artificial intelligence and data centers, saying that retiring old dirty energy sources over the next five years will create a shortfall without investment in firm baseload generation sources.
But the independent clean energy platform noted that solar power is the cheapest and most scalable source of energy, as it can take less than a year to build and connect a solar farm. The cost is $38-$78 per megawatt-hour compared to $48-$107 for gas power. Even if it takes 18 months to build a renewable system with battery storage, which is rare, that's far quicker than the 5-7 years for new gas capacity or 10-15 years for a new nuclear power plant.
Even China, notoriously reliant on coal power, gets 33% of its electricity from renewables, according to EnergySage. The United States gets 22%.
"The actions to undercut and terminate investments in research and development of new technologies are incredibly devastating to the ability of the United States to invent, demonstrate, scale, and deploy clean energy technologies," former White House adviser Kristina Costa told EnergySage. "The rest of the world is not changing their investment plans to move toward cleaner sources of electricity — they are continuing apace. The difference is that we are going to be artificially left behind."
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Why is this important?Noting the potential of solar power in states such as California and Arizona, Ember global electricity analyst Kostantsa Rangelova said: "It's a national risk for the U.S. to lose out on being part of that global story."
Solar is not just cheap for distributors; it's one of the best ways for homeowners to save money on energy costs. It also does not produce any planet-warming pollution, which is the cause of rapidly rising global temperatures — another factor in rising energy demand, as they are increasing air conditioning use across the globe.
Explore EnergySage's free tools to get estimates on a solar installation and compare quotes. The average person can get nearly $10,000 in incentives to offset the upfront cost, which is the main barrier to entry for home solar systems. EnergySage also has a mapping tool that shows the average cost of a solar setup by state as well as details on incentives.
These incentives, however, will expire after Dec. 31 since Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. To claim the 30% solar tax credit, homeowners should act fast.
"These actions show that the Trump administration is more focused on undoing the previous administration's legacy than prioritizing the country's long-term energy security and affordability," EnergySage stated. "In doing so, they've created a dangerous situation for Americans by undermining some of the only electricity sources ready to meet rising demand today."
What's being done about clean energy upgrades in the U.S.?EnergySage noted that in less than three years, the Inflation Reduction Act induced $422 billion in private-sector clean energy investments and helped create over 400,000 jobs. But the Trump administration has taken "the legs out from under that manufacturing renaissance," Costa said — contrary to its pledge to "unleash" the country's "energy dominance."
She added that customers, utilities, grid operators, and technical experts agree that the administration and its rhetoric do "not have any resemblance to reality on the ground."
"By stalling progress, the U.S. risks ceding its position as a global solar superpower to China — threatening not only its energy leadership, but also its economic competitiveness and national security in the decades ahead," EnergySage concluded. |
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