President Donald Trump has sparked controversy by blaming renewable energy sources like wind and solar power for skyrocketing electricity prices, which are rising at more than twice the rate of inflation. In a fiery Truth Social post on August 21, 2025, Trump labeled renewables “THE SCAM OF THE CENTURY!” and vowed to block new wind and “farmer-destroying solar” projects, declaring, “The days of stupidity are over in the USA!!!”
However, energy experts counter that renewables are not the culprit. Instead, they point to surging demand from data centers driven by cloud computing and AI, aging infrastructure, and extreme weather events like wildfires, worsened by climate change. U.S. Energy Information Administration data shows states with high renewable energy use, like Iowa, where 60% of electricity comes from wind, have seen price declines, while states reliant on fossil fuels face hikes.
Trump’s Energy Secretary Chris Wright attributed the price increases to “momentum” from Biden-era policies favoring renewables over fossil fuels like oil, coal, and natural gas. “We’re going to get blamed because we’re in office,” Wright told POLITICO in Iowa last week. Meanwhile, natural gas prices, which power 40% of U.S. electricity, are climbing due to increased exports to Europe.
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Critics, including Democrats and some Republicans, argue Trump’s policies are exacerbating the problem. A recent GOP tax-and-spending bill, passed in July 2025, restricts clean energy tax credits, which a non-partisan Energy Innovation report says could raise household energy bills by $130 annually by 2030. “Trump is taking a sledgehammer to the clean energy sector, killing jobs and projects,” said Sen. Martin Heinrich, top Democrat on the Senate Energy Committee.
Renewable advocates are pushing back hard. “The real scam is blaming solar for fossil fuel price spikes,” the Solar Energy Industries Association stated, noting that farmers and businesses adopt solar to save money and preserve land. Jason Grumet, CEO of the American Clean Power Association, highlighted that 90% of new U.S. energy capacity in 2024 was clean energy, offering some of the cheapest power available.
Even some Republicans, like Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, a wind power supporter, are resisting Trump’s approach. Grassley placed holds on three Treasury nominees to ensure a gradual phase-out of 2022 climate law tax credits, praising new Treasury guidance that limits but preserves them. John Quigley of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy warned that prioritizing fossil fuels could cost 45,000 jobs by 2030 and harm public health and safety. “Our children will pay an even higher price,” he said.
Trump’s 2024 campaign promise to cut electric bills by 50% remains unfulfilled, with critics arguing his policies hinder affordable, clean energy solutions needed to meet growing demand, including from electric vehicles. As the debate intensifies, posts on X reflect polarized sentiments, with some praising Trump’s stance and others decrying it as misguided. The administration’s focus on fossil fuels risks not only higher costs but also ceding global clean energy leadership, analysts say.
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