Stand up to Trump’s war on renewable energy

Recently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that federal funding for wind and solar energy projects will be slashed.

The reason? USDA says the agency is more interested in the potential for projects to be built on “prime farmland” than in promoting renewable energy. A press release said the agency’s goal is to end support of “unaffordable and unreliable ‘green’ energy sources.”

That criticism rings hollow in Iowa, where nearly 60% of the state's electricity comes from wind, more than any other state. The solar industry is also developing. And Iowa’s renewable energy prominence has been a key factor in attracting companies to the state.

Iowa's farmers will lose critical funding opportunities tied to solar and wind installations on their land. Many rural development plans may stall, and jobs tied to clean energy expansion in farming communities could be jeopardized.

The Clean Grid Alliance found that if all proposed solar projects were placed on Iowa’s 17.5 million acres considered “prime,” they would take up 35,000 acres, or just 0.2%. The notion that renewable energy is eating up cropland is a myth.

But, as you may know, President Donald Trump hates wind turbines. He’s talked often of birds killed by turbine blades and even insisted windmills can cause cancer. Trump has issued an executive order directing the Treasury Secretary to stop providing tax credits for wind and solar projects.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright stopped in Iowa this month and proclaimed that it’s time for the state’s wind energy industry to stand on its own.

“I think it’s the right time to sunset them,” Wright said of tax incentives for wind energy projects. “They’re 33 years old now. They’ve been extended 11 times.”

But the International Energy Agency reports that government subsidies benefiting the fossil fuel industry totaled $620 billion in 2023. The federal government has been propping up the ethanol industry in various ways for nearly 50 years.

This entire saga makes no sense. Renewable energy technology is America’s future. Trump administration policies clinging to fossil fuels are shortsighted and misinformed. Also, we’re pulling back from renewables at a critical moment when technology is making it more affordable and reliable.

The United States risks falling behind its global economic competitors. In Iowa, these misguided policies will stunt the growth of a promising industry that employs 4,000 Iowans and has generated $22 billion in capital investments, according to state figures.

Our congressional delegation should abandon its usual fealty to Trump and raise a ruckus over the loss of this funding. But even Sen. Chuck Grassley, the “father of wind energy” appears to be falling in line by accepting Trump’s mistake.

Iowa leaders must demand federal policies that keep our state at the forefront of renewable energy. If they don't, Iowa risks losing jobs, rural income, competitiveness, and the opportunity to counteract climate change. Our state has already seen the costs in floods, derechos and droughts.

(319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com