President Donald Trump has continued to suppress government support for clean energy projects since the beginning of his first term, through climate pact withdrawals, tax credit halts, and permit restrictions. Now, reports find that increased restrictions and difficulty in obtaining government permits are halting wind projects throughout Texas, leading to financial and job losses for Texans.
The president has long expressed antagonism toward clean energy. However, people are starting to question the incentives behind this antagonism, especially considering the newfound profitability and affordability of clean energy thanks to advancing technology over the past few years.
Starting on the day he was sworn into office for his second term, Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the United States from the 2015 Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty on climate change. He did the same thing upon the start of his first term, also announced that he wanted to quit the entire UN Framework Convention on Climate Change as well.
In 2025, he proposed killing the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) with the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” The IRA constituted several cleanenergy programs and incentives by offering technology-neutral tax credits to solar and wind developers. It was credited with helping to create over 330,000 jobs and representing almost half a trillion in private investment.
That same year, the Senate drafted a bill imposing a tax hike on wind and solar projects that fail to meet domestic content requirements after tax credits phase out in 2027. Trump also declared a “national energy emergency” to increase government support and fast-tracking of permits for all energy projects, except wind and solar.
In February, the Trump administration repealed the 2009 “endangerment finding”, which was the U.S. government’s main determination that greenhouse gases threaten public health, and the legal basis for nearly every federal climate regulation over the past two decades. Its repeal lifts restrictions on power plants, factories, and carmakers that previously prevented them from “polluting the air and heating the atmosphere.”
The administration proceeded with efforts to accelerate the phaseout of tax credits for renewable projects, which ended up having chilling effects on the sector, with $22 billion in clean energy projects cancelled and wind power investment down to its lowest level in a decade as of 2026.
Trump stated that his “goal is to not let any windmill be built.” Adding, “They’re losers.”
By December 2025, downsizing and more than 60 project cancellations began to shake investor confidence in the profitability of U.S. renewables. Three dollars of investment in clean energy were lost for every one dollar invested in 2025. A record number of factory closures and project reversals eliminated 38,031 clean energy manufacturing jobs.
Now, accelerated phaseouts for tax credits, rollbacks of billions in spending, and increased restrictions are limiting clean energy projects. Though solar projects will continue to receive tax credits if they begin construction by July and go into service by 2031, or alternatively, start construction later and go into service by 2027, there is still much in the way.
In Texas, the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) refusal to issue routine federal permits is causing dozens of wind projects to halt. The department cites national security concerns as the reason for its refusal to hand out permits.
Previously, the DoD would evaluate if a turbine would interfere with radar or if it were in the line of lowaltitude military airspace, and would negotiate with the developer over the course of a few weeks until an agreement was reached on mitigation options.
However, the department hasn’t approved a wind project since August 2025, and in April it canceled all pending meetings with wind developers seeking permits, according to the trade group. According to Dave Belote, a wind energy consultant, “right now, the entire process has just ground to a halt,” causing disruptions in projects and their ability to secure financing.
“It’s not clear why these policies are being implemented during an affordability crisis,” says University of Texas energy professor Michael Webber.” He added that he thinks “it shows the level of disdain the administration has for renewable energy in general and wind power specifically.”
Meanwhile, China has been embracing clean energy, especially solar energy, which has now reached efficiency levels so high in the country that it’s capacity has overtaken coal for the first time. As a result, China’s carbon emissions have fallen flat over the past two years.
China is now the top turbine manufacturer in the world, with more than 90% of its investment growth coming from renewable sectors, leading some to fear that the United States’ unwillingness to push clean energy will lead to it falling behind in the global economy.
Clean, renewable energy hasn’t been completely repressed in the U.S, however. According to Dan Farber, a law professor at the University of Berkeley, it has barely slowed down. Solar accounted for almost threefourths of new generation capacity in Trump’s first ten months in office, while wind added another 13%. According to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from October 2024, coal’s generating capacity has actually gone down since renewable options have been rising.
Farber said he believes that the immediate future looks alright, as there is optimism around solar projects stemming from the fact that they continue to receive tax credits, even if conditionally and temporarily. There is also the fact that the end of Trump’s last term is drawing near, and Democrats still have a chance of retaking the House and pushing for tax credit extensions on renewable energy projects.