Trump's victory unlikely to halt U.S. renewable energy growth
Donald Trump's electoral victory may slow down, but not stop, the development of the American renewable energy sector, although the new president will want to maximize oil and gas extraction, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
The law adopted two years ago, known as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), provided ten-year subsidies for developing clean energy projects. According to the agency, repealing it is almost impossible. "I don't think a Trump president can slow the transition. This is well under way," said an energy technology expert from the University of Houston.
During the election campaign, Trump announced plans to block funds not yet allocated to green energy. However, this would require the support of Congress, including representatives from states that have benefited from investments related to the IRA, such as solar panel factories or wind farms.
According to Carl Fleming from a law firm working with Joe Biden's administration on renewable energy policy, there have been so many "jobs and economic benefits" in Republican-governed states thanks to this law that it's hard to imagine a government that would want to forfeit them.
Slow down the transformation
According to Fleming, Trump could indeed slow down the energy transformation, for example, by changing the rules for leasing public lands.
The Biden administration aimed to facilitate leasing federal waters to wind farms. Trump, during the election campaign, claimed, however, that offshore wind farms are too expensive and pose threats to whales and seabirds.
According to experts cited by the agency, Reversing Biden's policy could most strongly affect offshore projects. Most land-based renewable energy investments and the vast majority of oil and gas wells are located on private lands.
