Power Shift: Trump’s Energy Agenda Sparks Cautious Optimism, Climate Concerns
Tuesday’s election, which will return Donald Trump to the White House and grant the U.S. Senate a Republican majority, could have sizeable implications for the power industry. In reactions sent to POWER, industry groups expressed a combination of cautious optimism, resilience, and preparedness for potential changes.
Industry leaders are bracing for a pro-fossil fuel agenda that could redefine the regulatory landscape, particularly for coal, gas, and renewables. Among the anticipated shifts, power companies and trade groups see opportunities for streamlining permits and ramping up oil, gas, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) production, while concerns are mounting over the possible rollback of clean energy tax credits, restrictions on electric vehicle (EV) incentives, and the uncertain future of offshore wind projects. While some advocates are preparing to protect recent clean energy gains, others in the power sector anticipate that Trump’s policies will boost domestic energy production and cut regulatory red tape.
The potential policy upheaval will come as utilities, power companies, and grid operators are already navigating what the North American Reliability Corp. has dubbed a “hypercomplex risk environment.” Driven by decarbonization strategies that appear baked into corporate and consumer sustainability initiatives, the industry has been preparing for a surge in power demand driven by electrification across transportation, residential, and commercial, and industrial sectors, including the digital sector. But the power sector has also grappled with the accelerated retirement of dispatchable coal and gas resources due to environmental regulations, and through public-private partnerships, it was beginning to address longstanding transmission limitations and persistent supply chain constraints.
‘America at Energy Crossroads’
Reactions from industry on the election of the Trump-Vance administration, incoming members of the 119th Congress, and winners of many state and local elections, suggest key participants are bracing for changes.
Jim Matheson, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), underscored the industry’s precarious conditions. “America is at an energy crossroads and the reliability of the electric grid hangs in the balance. Critical generation resources are being retired faster than they can be reliably replaced. At the same time, electricity demand is skyrocketing as power-hungry data centers and new manufacturing facilities come online,” he said. “Smart energy policies that keep the lights on are more important than ever.”
NRECA highlighted several policy priorities that are held by other power groups. A likely Trump administration priority will be to roll back Biden-era environmental rules, it noted. The EPA’s recent regulatory suite includes final Carbon Pollution Standards targeting GHG emissions from coal and new natural gas plants, a strengthened Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) for coal emissions, updated Effluent Limitations Guidelines (ELGs) to cut wastewater pollutants from steam plants, and a rule on legacy coal ash disposal, fulfilling a mandate from the DC Circuit for stricter coal ash oversight. The Biden administration in March 2024 dropped rules covering carbon emissions for existing gas-fired power plants. However, it was crafting a “new, comprehensive approach” to cover the “entire fleet of natural gas-fired turbines” and was anticipated to release its proposals after the November election.
NRECA, alongside several power groups, industry organizations, and 24 Republican-led states have filed challenges to the Carbon Pollution Standards. The U.S. Supreme Court in mid-October allowed the contentious rule to stand while litigation continues at the DC Circuit.
Among NRECA’s other policy priorities are legislative support for the Fix Our Forests Act (H.R. 8790), for grid hardening and wildfire mitigation on utility rights-of-way. Preserving the Lower Snake River dams is also a top goal, given its role in providing reliable, carbon-free electricity in the Pacific Northwest, the group said. Additionally, maintaining direct pay tax credits is crucial for co-ops deploying new energy technologies such as carbon capture, nuclear, and renewables. The sector also aims to protect USDA’s Empowering Rural America (New ERA) Program to fund rural energy innovation and promote essential infrastructure modernization for transmission.
On Wednesday, the Edison Electric Institute’s (EEI) also stated it would keep working with lawmakers to sustain its efforts. “Our nation’s economy is powered by reliable, affordable, and resilient clean energy. This is an exciting time for electric companies and our industry, as customer demand for electricity is growing at the fastest pace in decades, and we look forward to working with the Trump administration, Congress, and state policymakers and regulators to meet this demand safely, reliably, and affordably,” said interim president and CEO, Pat Vincent-Collawn. “Through continued investments in grid resilience, innovation, and our workforce, we will deliver the future of energy together.”
Anticipating Bipartisan Support for Growth
Several power groups, meanwhile, voiced hope that bipartisan support would continue for their energy sources. The nuclear sector, which has marked a number of significant triumphs driven in large part with support from the Biden administration’s DOE, said it hoped to maintain steady momentum. “We look forward to working with the new Administration to advance policies that extend the lives of existing nuclear reactors, usher in a new era of advanced technologies, and support a global marketplace for U.S. exports,” Nuclear Energy Institute’s (NEI) president and CEO Maria Korsnick told POWER. “Nuclear energy is one of the few issues that receives bipartisan support across the country. Nuclear generation is uniquely positioned to help the U.S. achieve our climate and national security goals, while creating a reliable energy system to meet growing demand,” she said.
The Nuclear Innovation Alliance (NIA), an advanced nuclear energy think tank, echoed this point. “We expect advanced nuclear energy to continue to enjoy robust and bipartisan support and we look forward to working with the new Administration and Congress. Our objective remains the same: to analyze and advocate for bipartisan solutions to accelerate advanced reactor innovation and commercialization to help meet our climate and energy security needs,” Judi Greenwald, executive director at NIA, told POWER.
Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), also hoped for continued growth opportunities in solar and storage. “America’s solar and storage industry is unleashing abundant, homegrown energy that is creating jobs and delivering affordable, reliable power to every home and business in this country,” she said. “I want to congratulate President-elect Trump on his election victory and look forward to working closely with his incoming administration to ensure the solar and storage industry, as well as the domestic manufacturing renaissance we’ve seen over the last few years, continue to thrive and play a vital role in America’s energy economy.”
Jason Grumet, CEO of the American Clean Power Association (ACP), which represents the full gamut of clean power, including wind and storage, reflected on the significant economic impact of clean energy under the previous Trump administration. “Our industry grew by double digits each year under the first Trump Administration and has accelerated this rate of progress since. Private sector clean energy investment is bringing jobs and economic opportunity to small towns and rural communities across the nation, while hundreds of new factories have come online in states that have seen far too many good jobs move overseas,” he said. “ACP looks forward to working with the Trump-Vance Administration to unleash American-made energy, deliver reliable power to the grid, grow the economy, and enhance our national security. Domestically produced clean power is vital to meeting our nation’s surging electricity demand,” he added.
Energy Workforce Groups Call for Action
Tim Tarpley, president of the Energy Workforce & Technology Council (EWTC), emphasized the need for regulatory and permitting reform to meet the country’s energy needs. Tarpley said EWTC, a national trade association for over 220 energy service and technology companies representing over 650,000 members, would collaborate with the Trump-Vance administration. Key priorities include “removing barriers to access federal leasing both onshore and offshore, sensible environmental regulations, ending the LNG pause, and quickly passing legislation that will reform and expedite the permitting process in our country.” These “actions will allow our sector to meet the growing energy demand our country will face in the coming years,” he said.
BlueGreen Alliance, a group that unifies labor unions and environmental organizations, however, lauded the Biden-Harris administration as the most pro-union, pro-climate action in our nation’s history. ““We’ve read the Project 2025—the road map for a second Trump term—and will fight tooth and nail to make sure it becomes a dead end,” said Executive Director Jason Walsh. “We will not stand aside when Trump comes to attack union workers, the environment, and our freedoms. We will stand together in solidarity with our partners and allies and work together at the local, state, and federal levels to protect our fundamental rights, the health and safety of workers and communities, the investments made across America that are driving a clean energy future, and our very democracy.”
Clean Action Groups: Resilient Momentum and Global Strategy.
The stakes for U.S.-led climate progress and global leadership remain unclear, though some groups remain optimistic.
The Clean Air Task Force (CATF), which advocates for environmental momentum based on pragmatism, told POWER it frames the election results as an intensified challenge for climate action within the U.S.—but with momentum that remains resilient at the state and community levels. “The U.S. election results are official, and the challenge just got more challenging. The winning presidential candidate has pledged to roll back many landmark U.S. climate and clean air policies and to withdraw from global engagement on emissions reductions,” said Armond Cohen, executive director of CATF. “While some may interpret this as the death knell for U.S. climate progress, or an invitation to push the issue aside for four years, that is far from inevitable,” he said.
Cohen, however, emphasized the broad, bipartisan popularity of clean energy and climate action across the nation. He said that “clean energy, innovation, clean air, and climate action are broadly popular across the country, and they can and must progress regardless of who sits in the White House.”
Funding from clean energy policies like the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) “is bolstering communities that voted red and blue alike—indeed, more clean energy manufacturing support is going to red than blue districts by a long distance—and the American clean energy boom is keeping the U.S. manufacturing economy growing at a brisk pace,” he noted. Today, nearly 60% of the nation is now covered by laws or utility pledges to achieve zero carbon emissions, with wind and solar deployment continuing at a record pace, while bipartisan interest in sustaining nuclear energy is also rising, he added.
For CATF, the climate challenge is a long-term battle, and Cohen asserted, “The climate challenge is a century-long one, and you don’t hit pause when politicians push unpopular policies that would take us backwards.”
A Trump policy will also affect the global front. Trump has pledged to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement again and may even consider exiting the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), though legal experts are divided on whether Senate approval would be required. Dan Lashof, U.S. director at the World Resources Institute (WRI), emphasized that international climate action will continue—with or without U.S. executive leadership. “There is no denying that another Trump presidency will stall national efforts to tackle the climate crisis and protect the environment, but most U.S. state, local, and private sector leaders are committed to charging ahead. And you can count on a chorus of world leaders confirming that they won’t turn their back on climate and nature goals,” he said.
Lashof also pointed out that both Republican and Democratic states are benefiting from the jobs and revenue generated by clean energy investments under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the IRA. He cautioned that turning away from climate action would not only be “irresponsible and immoral” but also run counter to public demand, as “polls show most Americans want the federal government to take action to address climate change and protect the air we breathe and the water we drink.”
Lashof outlined the continued importance of bipartisan climate opportunities, including trade policies and investments in decarbonizing heavy industry, which will bolster U.S. manufacturing, national security, and economic competitiveness. “While President Trump may retreat, leaders from states, cities, businesses, and elsewhere will eagerly step into the breach to take forward ambitious climate action,” he asserted. He also noted that global support for climate action has strengthened significantly. “If Donald Trump pulls out of the Paris Agreement again, it would simply diminish the United States’ influence and give other countries a leg up in the booming clean energy economy.”
—Sonal Patel is a POWER senior editor (@sonalcpatel, @POWERmagazine).