President Donald Trump escalated his criticism of the renewable energy industry on Wednesday, promising that his administration would not issue any approvals for new wind and solar power projects. 

Trump bashed wind and solar energy in a post shared to Truth Social Wednesday morning, writing that renewable projects were driving recent increases in electricity bills. 

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“Any State that has built and relied on WINDMILLS and SOLAR for power are seeing RECORD BREAKING INCREASES IN ELECTRICITY AND ENERGY COSTS,” Trump wrote. 

“THE SCAM OF THE CENTURY! We will not approve wind or farmer destroying Solar,” the president continued. “The days of stupidity are over in the USA!!!” 

This marks the first time that Trump has directly said he would block new solar projects, previously reserving that action for wind. 

During a trip to Scotland in late July, the president called wind energy a “disaster,” saying his administration would not allow new turbines to be built in the U.S. 

His remarks come as electricity prices have steadily risen over the last two and a half years. In the latest Consumer Price Index released this month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that electricity prices rose by 5.5% for the year ending in July, more than double the rate of inflation. 

Major grid operators have seen wholesale electricity costs dramatically increase, with prices in PJM Interconnections’ July capacity auction jumping by 22%. This is expected to translate into a 1.5-5% increase in consumers’ bills when the rates take effect next year. 

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PLACES EVEN STRICTER PHASE-OUTS FOR WIND AND SOLAR SUBSIDES

While many states within the PJM region have accelerated their buildout of wind and solar energy in recent years, they are not widely considered to be the sole driving force behind the rate hikes. 

Analysts have instead pointed to soaring demand brought on by data centers and artificial intelligence advancements, combined with a decrease in available generation. This decrease is caused by the retirements of traditional fossil fuel plants and the slow integration of clean alternatives, due to lacking transmission infrastructure.