President-elect Donald Trump is taking aim at renewable energy, echoing previous statements he’s made about wind energy. On Tuesday, he said he would oppose the creation of new windmills.
Trump shared his thoughts during a press conference on Tuesday, noting that he thinks the structures cost more than they produce.
“We’re going to try and have a policy where no windmills are being built,” Trump said, adding, “They don’t work without subsidy… you don’t want energy that needs subsidy.”
This isn’t the first time that Trump has shared criticism of renewable energy. In May, he said that “on day one,” he would end offshore wind production by executive order.
He seemed to double down on this on Tuesday, saying that “they’re dangerous.”
“The windmills are driving the whales crazy, obviously,” Trump said.
He has also vowed to pursue policies that are favorable to fossil fuel producers, famously saying he would “drill baby, drill” during his second term. One way he may accomplish this is through his pick to run the Department of Energy, fracking CEO Chris Wright.
Working to stop the creation of new windmills may not only affect the energy industry and potentially prices, but it also could have a broader impact on the economy, as thousands of jobs are created by harnessing wind power.
According to the Department of Energy, 150,000 people in the US work in the wind industry across all 50 states. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also reports that wind turbine service technicians are the fastest-growing US job of this decade.
As a resource, the department shares that wind turbines operating in all 50 states generated more than “10% of the net total of the country’s energy” in 2022. Also, in 2022, investments made in new wind projects added a reported $20 billion to the US economy.
“Wind power is a clean and renewable energy source. Wind turbines harness energy from the wind using mechanical power to spin a generator and create electricity. Not only is wind an abundant and inexhaustible resource, but it also provides electricity without burning any fuel or polluting the air,” the Department of Energy says on its website. “Wind energy in the United States helps avoid 336 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually—equivalent to the emissions from 73 million cars.”