Wind and solar energy will no longer receive preferential treatment

As an example of higher electricity prices, Furchtgott-Roth says that in 2024, “the cost of electricity in California was 32 cents per kilowatt hour, but it was 11 cents an hour in Utah, which does not require renewables.”

The Trump administration is ending preferential treatment for “unreliable” solar and wind energy, and the director of the Center for Energy, Climate and Environment at The Heritage Foundation is welcoming the move.

Director Diana Furchtgott-Roth told The Center Square that solar and wind are more costly forms of energy due to the need for backups.

“Solar and wind are reliable when the sun shines and the wind blows, but this does not happen all the time,” Furchtgott-Roth said. This makes backups necessary, “which adds to the cost of providing electricity from these sources.”

These backups as well as the fact that “connecting solar and wind to the grid is costly,” means “states that require solar and wind in their energy mix have higher electricity prices,” Furchtgott-Roth said.

“Higher electricity costs add to inflation and discourage manufacturing,” Furchtgott-Roth said.

As an example of higher electricity prices, Furchtgott-Roth told The Center Square that in 2024, “the cost of electricity in California was 32 cents per kilowatt hour, but it was 11 cents an hour in Utah, which does not require renewables.”

Furchtgott-Roth also told The Center Square about the impact solar and wind energy have on the environment.

“Solar and wind energy take more land to produce a unit of energy than does natural gas, and so land cannot be used for other purposes,” Furchtgott-Roth said. “Wind turbines kill birds.”

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