Brace yourselves, because once again, the Trump administration is proving that its Department of Energy runs more on political posturing than on actual facts. Remember when Trump promised to hire “only the best people”?
Enter Energy Secretary Chris Wright, turning Trump’s cabinet into the Island of Misfit Toys—if all the toys were powered by coal dust and climate change denial. True to form, Wright is now amplifying the president’s pet conspiracy that wind and solar are “the scam[s] of the century.”
In an interview with the Washington Examiner on Friday, Wright claimed Trump was “correct” to blame renewable energy for record electricity price hikes in some states. This, of course, conveniently overlooks the fact that several of the country’s cheapest electricity markets are powered primarily by wind and solar.
Clean energy advocates pointed to states like Iowa and Oklahoma, both wind giants with some of the lowest electricity price increases nationwide, as living proof that the narrative doesn’t add up.
Iowa gets more than 60% of its electricity from wind, and yet its average household power bills remain below the national average. Oklahoma is in a similar boat: high wind output, stable bills, and zero evidence that turbines are secretly siphoning money out of residents’ wallets.
But Wright’s response to the environmentally friendly shade? A Trump-approved shrug and spin:
“They generate [wind energy] in those states, but most of it isn’t consumed in those states. They have land. They’re pro-development. They do generate power, and they sell it. They sell it onto the whole grid, not just in their own state.”
Wright also argued that prices have stayed low in those states only because they never shut down their fossil fuel plants, essentially framing renewable growth as just a little side hustle for Big Oil.
And to prove the department’s disdain for science wasn’t a one-off, the official DOE account parroted this gem:
“Wind and solar energy infrastructure is essentially worthless when it is dark outside, and the wind is not blowing.”
They even posted it on social media… don’t believe me (and look at the Community Note below):
To humor the Secretary, I’ll agree—that does sound super scary… if you flunked sixth-grade science and don’t understand how electricity works.
In reality, wind and solar are like teammates. The sun doesn’t shine at night, sure, but solar panels generate extra power during the day that can be stored in batteries or shared across the national grid. And while the wind isn’t always blowing in one town, it’s almost always blowing somewhere—that’s why the grid ties states together.
See, it’s not witchcraft, Mr. Secretary—it’s literally how outlets work.
I also have to note that Wright’s talking points, unfortunately, echo Trump’s infamous “windmill” rant—one he dusted off again during his July visit to Scotland:
– YouTube
Trump acts like the windmills are out there plotting against his handicap.
But that wasn’t simply enough—Wright also doubled down in the Financial Times, dismissing global climate targets outright.
The Secretary proclaimed on X:
“Net zero 2050 is just a colossal train wreck … It’s just a monstrous human impoverishment program, and of course, there is no way it is going to happen.”
At this point, all Wright needs is a spray tan and a comb-over, and his Trump cosplay will be complete.
Meanwhile, in the real world, over 140 countries, including the U.S., have committed to net-zero targets in line with the Paris Agreement. Scientists agree that reaching net zero by mid-century is essential to avoid exceeding 1.5°C of warming.
But Wright would rather call the project a “train wreck,” while his boss flies to Milan with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to praise fossil fuels at the Gastech conference.
It’s not like the U.S. was lowering energy bills under Trump either. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in July that electricity prices went up by 5.5% year over year—more than double inflation—despite Trump’s campaign promises to reduce them. Renewable advocates say the real issue is the volatility of natural gas prices and the ongoing dependence on fossil fuels.
Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power, put it bluntly:
“But if the administration truly wants an energy dominance strategy that allows us to power growing manufacturing and data centers, they need to stop actively blocking deployment of renewable power.”
Renewable power here means the obvious—wind, solar, and other clean energy sources. You know, the stuff that doesn’t run out, doesn’t spike your bills every time natural gas sneezes, and doesn’t hand Millennials and Gen Z a climate debt bigger than our student loans.
Lol, just kidding—we’re never paying those off anyway.
The internet promptly entered the Energy Secretary into the social media science fair—and his project got a big fat “see me after class.”
Cue the rainbow star and that classic “The More You Know” gif.
Of course, the Trump administration’s war on renewables didn’t start yesterday. From executive orders to agency slow-walking, it’s been open season on clean energy since Day One.
Wright occasionally admits renewables might be useful, but the playbook is clear: stall, obstruct, and undermine. Just this week, Trump vowed to block new wind and solar projects on farmland, because apparently letting crops grow in sunlight is fine, but harvesting electricity from it is socialism.
The irony? While Trump’s team insists that wind and solar are scams, the U.S. risks falling behind not just technologically but also economically, as the rest of the world embraces clean power.
But sure—let’s keep enabling the president to fight the sun and the windmills like a fossil-fueled Don Quixote Trump.
