Trump Allies Eye Green Power in ‘All of the Above’ Energy Push

(Bloomberg) -- Two of Donald Trump’s former Cabinet secretaries are outlining a vision for American energy dominance that embraces all forms of power production — even green sources the president has ridiculed.

The public pitch comes courtesy of former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and former Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette, who on Wednesday launched a campaign designed to mobilize conservatives behind an “all of the above” approach to energy. 

Their new Restoring Energy Dominance — or RED — Coalition will work “to ensure that President Trump has the support he needs to implement an all-of-the-above energy agenda that will be essential to lowering costs, creating good paying jobs and bolstering America’s national security,” Brouillette said in a statement. 

The effort comes amid increasing alarm from renewable power developers that Washington will winnow key subsidies and other support driving the construction of wind farms, solar arrays and energy storage projects nationwide. Hours after taking office, Trump banned the sale of new offshore wind leases, and his Interior Department swiftly froze permits for solar projects on federal land.

Earlier: Trump Eyes Biden’s Green Bank, EV Tax Credits Amid Freeze

Renewable energy advocates are working to marshal support from congressional Republicans as they fight to preserve federal subsidies expanded by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, including a technology-neutral tax credit for projects generating emission-free power from nuclear plants, wind turbines, solar panels and other facilities. 

Lawmakers are mulling reductions to some IRA subsidies, including potentially repealing credits for electric vehicle purchases and slapping new limits on an advanced manufacturing incentive, as a way to help pay for renewing and extending expiring tax cuts. 

According to the RED Coalition’s website, the new group includes “concerned citizens and policy experts who understand that American energy production — of all kinds — is essential for unleashing domestic energy dominance.” A spokesman declined to say who was funding the effort. 

The group’s appeal is rooted in Trump’s own vision to capitalize on America’s energy bounty to both enrich the US and bolster the country amid a global competition to dominate artificial intelligence. 

“America is entering an age of unprecedented energy demand,” tied to the growth of artificial intelligence and domestic manufacturing, the group says in a video publicized Wednesday. “To rise to the challenge — to win — we need to kick American energy production into overdrive. We can do it with an all-of-the-above energy approach.”

The video features images of nuclear plants, fuel terminals and solar arrays — and even a nodding pumpjack with wind turbines spinning in the distance. 

‘All Forms’

“President Trump is spot on about needing all forms of energy to meet our current challenges,” Bernhardt said in a statement.

It’s unclear how the initiative will be received by Trump — or the political appointees he’s tasked with advancing fossil fuel production. Bernhardt and Brouillette led two of the agencies central to the president’s energy dominance push, and both men are staunch Trump allies. Bernhardt even wrote a book about reining in federal agencies that praises the president’s “enabling leadership” during his first term in the White House. 

Trump has touted an all-of-the-above approach to energy even while championing plans to “drill, baby, drill” and tap the “liquid gold” under US soil. And though he’s been a relentless critic of wind turbines, US deployment of the renewable power source is actually on track to be higher during Trump’s first term in office than under former President Joe Biden, according to American Clean Power Association data. 

Yet Trump’s early energy moves in the White House have been focused squarely on fossil fuels. And an emergency declaration meant to expedite energy projects only covers some sources. It gives a nod to fossil fuels as well as geothermal, hydro and nuclear power, while shunning wind and solar. 

Some conservatives say the new campaign should follow a similar tack. 

“Restoring energy dominance requires both streamlining regulations and getting the federal government out of the business of subsidizing specific types of energy, particularly wind and solar,” said Tom Pyle, president of the American Energy Alliance advocacy group. “If this coalition embraces both of these things, I’m on board. If it includes protecting the IRA subsides, it will surely be at odds with President Trump’s energy agenda.”

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