Over the last 10 years, wind, solar, and other clean energy technologies have reached a point where renewable energy is an essential part of the efforts to fight climate change. However, government policies underlie the path and growth of this sector, and the Trump Administration is perhaps the most profound embodiment of this fact. Moving forward, this often unpredictable and dynamic administration will play a crucial role in renewable energy’s immediate future.
A point of consideration in renewable energy is the various effects due to the administration of former President Donald Trump. The administration rolled back or weakened many policies aimed at limiting carbon emissions and encouraging clean energy. One of the most affirmative aspects of abandoning the Clean Power Plan was the loss of massive government incentives for states to convert to renewable energy. This policy move, which cut federal funding, has left investors and entrepreneurs in renewable energy facing unfamiliar uncertainty.
As president, Trump’s federal government has offered several proposed budget cuts to agencies and programs that provide federal support for renewable energy, including the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). Though Congress mostly voted down these cuts, the administration’s position communicated a deprioritization of clean energy research and innovation on the federal level. This negligence of developing renewables may have hampered the progress of clean energy.
The Trump Administration’s trade policies also affected the renewable energy sector. Before the levies, solar panels imported under a new scheme faced $49 billion in extra tariffs, which could have raised developers’ costs and potentially slowed projects. While designed to boost domestic production, the tariffs also raised costs for companies that rely on manufactured solar parts overseas, exacerbating the sector’s growth challenges.
Investments in renewable energy at the state and private sector levels were rising despite federal headwinds. Many states – notably, California, New York, and Texas – have set bold renewable energy goals and instituted supporting policies. Corporations also gradually started making sustainability a key focus, pledging to use renewable energy. These efforts helped counteract federal policy shifts and maintained momentum in the industry.
Even though federal policies played a role in developing the renewable energy sector, there was still progress on this front thanks to the effects of market forces complemented by technological advances. Those declining costs made wind and solar power increasingly competitive with fossil fuels, spurring investment and development despite strong federal incentives. If nothing else, the economic underpinnings of the energy transition towards renewables were so strong that turning it back would be a considerable challenge, even if the policies changed.
The Trump Administration did create hurdles for the growth of renewable energy. Still, the industry powered through them—policies at the state level, corporate sustainability commitments, and falling prices made for ongoing expansion. Long-term trends in renewable energy in the U.S. should remain positive, but federal policy will always play an essential role in setting the pace and scale of that growth. Future administrations will have chances to re-establish and expand federal assistance for renewables, fortifying the country’s transfer to cleaner power.
Simply put, despite the roadblocks presented by the Trump administration, the momentum for renewable energy in market economics and advocacy was impossible to stop. The future for renewables will center on consistent support for policy, technological innovation, and continued investment in clean energy.
Renewable energy valuation remains a noteworthy facet in this broad equation – and Appraisal Economics is the perfect partner with decades of experience appraising renewable energy projects throughout the United States and abroad.