Donald Trump’s sweeping cuts to U.S. renewable energy subsidies have thrown the industry into turmoil, raising fears that the country will fall behind in meeting surging power demand driven by the artificial intelligence boom, according to the Financial Times.
Clean energy projects worth $18.6 billion have been cancelled so far this year, compared with just $827 million in 2024, data from Atlas Public Policy’s Clean Economy Tracker shows. Announced investments have also fallen nearly 20 per cent to $15.8 billion.
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has axed tax credits, loans, and grants introduced under the Biden administration, while tightening permitting rules for wind and solar projects and restricting companies with supply chains tied to China.
The fallout has been swift: eleven renewable energy firms have filed for bankruptcy this year, including U.S. wind turbine blade maker TPI Composites. Chief executive William Siwek said in filings that the administration was making a “substantial effort to phase out meaningful renewable energy subsidies.”
The Department of Energy has defended the policy shift, saying it is focused on “all forms of energy that are affordable, reliable and secure” to ensure the U.S. can “win the AI race and reindustrialise.”
Yet analysts warn the U.S. risks sidelining the cheapest and fastest-growing energy sources. “Renewables can be built and connected in a matter of a year or two, in a way that meets data centre developers’ timelines,” said Advait Arun, an energy policy analyst at the Center for Public Interest. “If you’re ignoring renewables, you’re missing a key part of the equation.”
The changes have hit residential solar particularly hard. Tax incentives for homeowners will end later this year, and consultancy Wood Mackenzie predicts installations could fall 46 per cent through 2030. Aurora Solar chief executive Chris Hopper warned that Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” would drive workers and investors away: “We’re going to lose progress, with people leaving the industry and capital and confidence lost.”
Utility-scale developers are also facing rising costs and delays from new permitting hurdles. Interior secretary Doug Burgum recently announced that wind and solar projects would face “elevated review,” compounding uncertainty after Trump paused offshore leasing in January.
The financial impact is already significant. Danish renewables group Ørsted said heightened political risk had made its Sunrise Wind project “impossible” to finance, forcing it to launch a $9.4 billion rights issue. “Without the certainty of permits, it’s really hard to get financing and build a project,” said Avantus chief executive Cliff Graham.
BloombergNEF forecasts U.S. onshore wind additions will total just 30 gigawatts by 2030 — half its previous projection before Trump’s bill. Satellite data from Kayrros shows daily utility-scale solar installations have fallen 44 per cent since his election. Battery storage companies, which retain tax credits until 2036, are also exposed to new “foreign entity of concern” rules given China’s dominance of global supply chains.
Energy secretary Chris Wright has been outspoken in his criticism of renewable power, calling wind and solar “parasite[s] on the grid.” His department has already cut $3.7 billion in grants, while $8.5 billion in loans have been cancelled or remain at risk.
For an industry once buoyed by record investment, the shift marks a dramatic reversal — one that could hinder America’s ability to meet both its climate ambitions and the rising electricity demands of the AI era.
