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Energy Secretary Chris Wright is defending the Trump administration’s decision to eliminate wind and solar subsidies as part of a broader tax cut package, arguing that renewable energy sources actually make electricity more expensive rather than cheaper. Mr. Wright, a former fracking executive, contends that intermittent renewables create costly inefficiencies in the electrical grid system.
The Trump administration’s tax legislation will phase out green energy subsidies by 2026, saving an estimated $500 billion over ten years, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.
However, critics warn this will result in job losses, higher energy bills, and reduced grid capacity as renewable energy projects become less economically viable.
Mr. Wright challenges the conventional wisdom that renewable energy reduces costs, pointing to states like California as evidence. He notes that California, which has heavily invested in wind and solar while importing renewable power from neighboring states, has electricity prices twice as high as Florida, which focused on natural gas infrastructure instead.
The energy secretary argues that renewable sources require maintaining essentially two separate electrical grids — one for when renewable sources are producing power and another for backup when they’re not. This dual system forces traditional power plants to operate less efficiently, ramping up and down to accommodate intermittent renewable generation.
Opposition comes from Democrats like Sen. Ron Wyden, who authored many of the renewable tax credits and calls the cuts “an outright massacre.” Clean energy advocates warn that eliminating subsidies will force consumers to pay higher costs for unsubsidized renewable projects or drive utilities back to more expensive fossil fuels.
Mr. Wright specifically praised President Trump’s executive order blocking offshore wind projects along the eastern seaboard, describing offshore wind as among the most expensive energy sources globally. He cited Connecticut as an example where offshore wind was projected to cost nearly $100 per megawatt hour, almost double the cost of the state’s nuclear power plant.
The energy secretary believes the policy changes will encourage states to pivot toward more reliable baseload power sources like natural gas, coal, and nuclear power. He argues this shift will ultimately reduce energy costs by eliminating the inefficiencies created by intermittent renewable sources.
Critics counter that transitioning away from renewables toward natural gas would require years of permitting and construction for new plants, potentially leaving grids short of capacity and consumers facing higher prices during the transition period. Mr. Wright maintains that regulatory changes could accelerate natural gas expansion once renewable subsidies are eliminated.
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