President Trump Pushes Back on Wind Energy

This week, President Trump celebrated his first 100 days in office at a rally in Michigan. The speech included praise for his energy policy but not so much for green energy.

President Donald Trump: “We've ended the radical left war on American energy. We've stopped their crusade on coal. Did you see what I did the other day? Clean, beautiful coal. I said, you're not allowed to use the word coal unless you say clean, beautiful coal. … And you know what? I don't give approval to those stupid windmills that go round and round and round.” 

Iowa Senator Charles Grassley, a Republican and father of the Wind Energy Tax Credit, was not concerned about any potential cuts to the policy,

Sen. Charles Grassley, R- Iowa: “I’ve been listening to that for 8 years so it’s not a surprise. I like to tell him that when he talks about wind energy killing birds, there’s more birds that fly into the glass towers in Washington, D.C., including his, that kill more birds than wind energy does.”

Grassley believes there is a place for discussion about the Wind Energy Tax Credit in the bill that will extend Trump era tax cuts.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R- Iowa: “You could leave it the same or I suppose you could be phasing it out.”

Grassley negotiated a sunset to the credit in 2015 but the policy, now known as 45Y, was extended to 2033 under the Biden Administrations Inflation Reduction Act.

For Market to Market, I’m David Miller.

contact: miller@iowapbs.org