WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Tuesday, readers! President Donald Trump held a cabinet meeting today, at which energy leaders did not hold back on their criticism of wind and other renewable energy sources. Trump called wind energy “ugly” and “expensive.”
The criticism comes days after the administration succeeded in slashing billions in energy tax credits in the Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Meanwhile, former officials from the Biden administration are warning that the OBBBA will drive energy costs for consumers.
Recommended Stories
- Daily on Energy: Texas flood news, admin sees blackouts from AI and renewables, and the return of tariffs
- Daily on Energy, presented by Built for America: 'Big beautiful bill' to Trump’s desk, ‘drill, baby, drill’ in doubt
- Daily on Energy, presented by Built for America: GOP clashes over clean tax credits, European heatwave, and oil prices jump
Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner energy and environment writers Callie Patteson (@CalliePatteson) and Maydeen Merino (@MaydeenMerino). Email cpatteson@washingtonexaminer dot com or mmerino@washingtonexaminer dot com for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.
TRUMP SLAMS RENEWABLES, ‘WE DON’T WANT’ WIND AND SOLAR: President Donald Trump admonished the renewable energy industry during a cabinet meeting this afternoon, emphasizing the administration’s disinterest in pursuing new wind and solar projects to meet growing electricity demand.
The details: For years, Trump has long criticized wind and solar projects, instead propping up traditional energy sources like coal and natural gas. He echoed his past criticism today, accusing renewables of being extraordinarily expensive and causing harm to local farmers and wildlife.
“We don’t want wind and we don’t want solar because they’re a blight on our country,” Trump said. “They hurt our country very badly, and smart countries don’t use it.”
Trump also suggested that China has “very, very few” wind farms, claiming that, while China dominates wind turbine supply chains, it opts not to use them.
In fact: China leads the world in wind power capacity, hitting a massive 520 gigawatts last year. By comparison, the U.S. only has around 153 gigawatts of wind power capacity. Other major powers like Germany and India have also seen substantial growth in wind power in recent years, with both countries having a capacity of more than 50 gigawatts.
Within the U.S., wind power has been embraced by several Republican-led states, including Texas, as a way to diversify their energy makeup, increase the amount of power pumping into the grid, and lower consumer costs. The Texas Comptroller’s office has pointed out that the inclusion of renewables on the Texas grid has saved residents more than $31 billion on wholesale energy prices. At the same time, recent analysis has found that traditional sources of energy like coal are no longer cost competitive with renewables.
NEW EXECUTIVE ORDER FOR LIMITING SUBSIDIES FOR WIND AND SOLAR: The president’s remarks came just one day after he signed an executive order further limiting which wind and solar power projects can claim federal incentives that are phasing out under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The bill, signed into law by Trump on Friday, eliminates clean energy tax credits for wind and solar unless they are able to plug into the grid by 2028 – or if they are able to start construction within the next 12 months. Hardline conservatives in the House criticized the handling of green subsidies, saying it didn’t go far enough to eliminate what they have dubbed as the “Green New Scam.”
The specifics: Yesterday, Trump appeared to take the strict requirements a step further, asking the Department of Treasury to further restrict which projects can qualify. He ordered the agency to issue new guidance regarding the “beginning of construction” language in order to prevent “the artificial acceleration or manipulation of eligibility.” The order also calls for the restriction of the use of “broad safe harbors unless a substantial portion of a subject facility has been built.”
FORMER BIDEN OFFICIALS BLAST OBBBA, SAYING BILL THREATENS HIGHER ENERGY COSTS: The Trump administration may be hurting its chances to secure “energy dominance” because of the OBBBA cuts to renewable energy subsidies, former Biden administration officials said today.
The details: The warning comes from former Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo and former Deputy Secretary of Energy Dave Turk, who both spoke at the Third Annual Energy Opportunity Forum hosted by Columbia University’s Center of Global Energy Policy in Washington, D.C., this morning.
The two former administration staffers highlighted the passage of OBBBA, and its reversal of several critical clean energy tax credits aimed at boosting wind and solar projects. While the current administration has touted priorities of lowering Americans’ energy bills, both former Biden officials said that the policy will have the opposite effect.
Adeyemo claimed that the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which created and expanded several of the now-cut subsidies, created a pathway for increased private capital in these industries. However, the IRA “experiment” – as he described it – ran too short, threatening similar investments.
Similarly, Turk warned that the energy industry will face upward pressure on prices due to the passage of the bill, as some large clean manufacturing facilities won’t be built, jobs will be lost, and the U.S. will continue to fall behind to countries like China. Turk claimed that rather than prioritizing solutions to solve the energy security problem, the sitting administration is focused on ideology.
Key quote: “That’s the reality. But that’s not how members of Congress voted, and that’s not how this administration went forward with its plan,” Turk said. “And so I think one thing to watch is, how much can you divorce your policy and your rhetoric from reality and the realities of the real world.”
LATEST ON TEXAS FLOODS: The death toll in Texas surpassed 100 yesterday evening as search and rescue efforts continue.
As of this morning, Kerr County reported the deaths of 56 adults and 31 children. Throughout six counties, at least 107 people are dead. A flash flood hit parts of central Texas in the early morning hours on Friday. The heavy rainfall caused the Guadalupe River in some parts of Texas to rise up to 20 feet within 3 hours. The flash flood particularly hit summer camps along the river.
ClimaMeter, a framework for understanding extreme weather events funded by the European Union and the French National Centre for Scientific Research, said that the flooding in Texas was intensified by climate change.
Researchers analyzed similar weather events leading to the Texas flood. They found that conditions in Texas the day of the flood were 7% wetter than similar weather events in the past.
“These results suggest that meteorological conditions similar to those of the July 2025 Texas floods are becoming more favorable for extreme precipitation, in line with what would be expected under continued global warming,” the report says.
DOI APPROVES NEW COAL MINING PERMITS: The Department of Interior said it approved a Creek Mining LLC permit to mine coal in Bryson Mountain in Claiborne County, Tennessee.
The department said the project will produce up to 1.8 million tons of coal over the next 10 years. The approved project is part of the administration’s efforts to revive the coal industry.
“This project reflects a broader shift, one where American resources are being put to work for American strength,” Acting Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Adam Suess said in a statement.
“We’re not just issuing permits—we’re supporting communities, securing supply chains for critical industries, and making sure the U.S. stays competitive in a changing global energy landscape,” Suess said.
The DOI said the project was approved through an expedited environmental review process in response to the national energy emergency that Trump declared in January.
CALIFORNIA FIREFIGHTERS START CONTAINING LARGEST FIRE OF THE YEAR: Firefighters in California are beginning to contain the Madre Fire in San Luis Obispo, which has burned more than 80,000 acres.
The Madre Fire started on July 2 but quickly grew to 50,000 acres by July 4. The fire as of today has burned 80,603 acres and is 35% contained, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The fire is the largest the state has seen this year.
San Luis Obispo is located on the central coast of California. More than 1,400 firefighters have been fighting the blazes. California fire season peaks between June and October.
The Madre Fire started nearly six months after Los Angeles had one of its most destructive wildfires in the Palisades and Eaton communities.
Last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom tweeted “The #MadreFire — which started on federal land Trump manages — is now the LARGEST wildfire of the year.”
“Trump hasn’t said a word. His admin is proposing cuts to the Forest Service instead. Rake your forest, @realDonaldTrump,” he said.
U.S. TO SEE RECORD ENERGY DEMAND THIS YEAR: Amid debates over power sources, energy demand is anticipated to reach record levels both this year and next.
The details: The Energy Information Administration released its short-term energy outlook today, projecting that domestic power demand will jump to 4,189 billion kilowatt hours this year, up from 4,097 billion kilowatt hours in 2024. That trend is expected to continue into 2026, with demand reaching another projected record of 4,278 billion kilowatt hours.
The demand growth is in a large part expected to come from artificial intelligence advancements seen through the construction of large-load data centers as well as the continued electrification of homes and businesses.
‘Drill, baby, drill’ flailing: As energy demand grows, the EIA estimated that dropping oil prices will continue to put downward pressure on the oil and gas industries, leading producers to slow drilling activity this year.
The agency now forecasts that the U.S. will see a dip in production this year, dropping from a record high of 13.4 million barrels per day during the second quarter of this year, to around 13.3 million barrels per day by the end of 2025. The new projections come one week after some oil executives warned that they are also expecting to see production dip if prices stick around or fall below the $60 per barrel mark.
RUNDOWN
Washington Examiner Celebrate American independence by advancing energy dominance
Associated Press Underwater turbine spinning for 6 years off Scotland’s coast is a breakthrough for tidal energy
ProPublica Utah Sen. Mike Lee Says Selling Off Public Lands Will Solve the West’s Housing Crisis. Past Sales Show Otherwise.