Trump tried to curb clean energy. It’s booming anyway.

# Trump tried to curb clean energy. It’s booming anyway. Source: [https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/08/trump-tried-to-curb-clean-energy-its-booming-anyway/](https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/08/trump-tried-to-curb-clean-energy-its-booming-anyway/) Expectations for sharply higher electricity demand are also driving the pace of the rollout\. US power consumption is expected to grow 39 percent by 2035, according to consultancy ICF, driven by energy\-hungry data centers and the electrification of household appliances and transport\. The surge comes after demand remained steady for more than a decade\. Solar and wind are among the quickest, cheapest forms of energy to add to the grid\. According to RMI, a think\-tank, new solar and wind sites have a lead time of less than two years, compared to at least three years to develop gas projects\. Producers can break even by selling solar and wind power for as little as $38 and $37 per megawatt\-hour, respectively, compared to at least $48 per megawatt\-hour for gas, according to investment bank Lazard\. However, these figures do not fully account for system upgrade costs and batteries to smooth out intermittency\. Renewable power developers also stand to profit, as electricity prices are expected to rise 40 to 120 percent once Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act subsidies expire\. “Candidly, it’s a good time to be a developer,” said Ethan Zindler, head of country and policy research at BloombergNEF\. “Data centers need power, and they need it basically yesterday\.” Extreme weather and Trump’s Iran war have also contributed to the growth\. [](https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-24-at-9.32.02-AM.jpeg) Consumer investment in residential solar panels, batteries, and zero\-emission vehicles led clean energy spending in the second quarter of 2026, increasing 45 percent from the previous quarter and 21 percent from the same period in 2025, according to researcher Rhodium Group\. “People in Florida are installing a lot of home batteries to ensure their house still has power in a hurricane,” said Hannah Hess, a director with Rhodium’s energy and climate practice\. “And with the Iran war driving higher fuel prices, we’re seeing more EV and hybrid \[vehicle\] purchasing\.” US courts have slowed Trump’s war on green energy\. A district court judge in Oregon recently ordered the Pentagon to cease blocking onshore wind development\. The courts have blocked all five of the administration’s attempts to halt construction at wind projects off the US’s East Coast\. Developers are having some success lobbying the administration directly, leaning on people with ties to the administration to advocate for individual projects, people familiar told the FT\. Among the arguments is that the projects will not displace fossil fuels—Trump’s preferred source of energy\. “What we found on the permit side is that the administration is pretty pragmatic,” said Cliff Graham, chief executive at clean energy company Avantus\. “There’s a lot of land between Reno, Tucson, and Barstow, where there’s no better use than solar\-plus\-storage\.” *[© 2025 The Financial Times Ltd](https://www.ft.com/)\.[All rights reserved](https://www.ft.com/)\. Not to be redistributed, copied, or modified in any way\.*