The American clean power industry is thriving and making a significant contribution to the U.S. economy thanks to policies of the Biden-Harris administration, as well as the highly competitive prices and speed with which clean power systems and energy storage can be currently installed. But the industry is now facing an all-out assault from President Donald Trump.
His signature “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which Trump signed into law on July 4, heavily targets the industry, which Trump has labeled the “green new scam.” The legislation eliminates a 30 percent tax credit for residential rooftop solar panels by the end of 2025, as well as those dedicated to utility-scale solar and wind, although plants that are already financed and approved by June 2026 — or that are operational by 2027 — can still qualify for the credits. (The credit for solar leasing companies will also last through 2027 and can be passed through to consumers.) The bill also eliminates tax credits for electric vehicles and chargers, as well as battery storage systems, geothermal heating, electric panel upgrades, energy audits and weatherization, all of which can lower consumer’s energy bills.
In a last minute move, however, Republicans struck a proposed excise tax on wind and solar projects if the materials included a percentage of minerals sourced from certain foreign countries. Experts say that, regardless of the excise tax reprieve and the included grandfather provisions, the clean energy industry will be badly hurt and consumers’ energy prices could rise by eight to 10 percent.
Which also, ironically enough, pretty much dooms the US into being a bankrupt has-been in the future, desperatly clinging to outdated technology that nobody else wants any more, while China easily saunters into position as the new world leader.
Trump continuing his lifelong pattern of patting himself on the back even as he blunders into bankruptcy yet again, except this time he’s dragging all of us along with him.
Ah well - it’ll be really, really ugly for the US in the relatively short term, but it could be to our overall advantage in the longer term. All of the anbitious psychopaths will go somewhere else to make their fortunes, and the US could be left to just sort of toddle along, quietly decrepit and generally broke, which might actually give us a chance to do some good for ordinary people for once, instead of being warped to serve the greed of psychopaths.
Thanks for your insightful comments. Sums it up well and I appreciate that you ended on a hopeful, positive note. I agree with you and I think we’ll be seeing more mutual aid groups, DIY efforts and acts of solidarity as ordinary people come together despite the greed and hubris of those in power.
