The recent re-election of Donald Trump as the next president of the United States has dented clean energy prospects in the country. A climate sceptic, Trump has promised to turbo-charge America’s fossil fuel sector and to end offshore wind projects on “day one” of his presidency.
On the campaign trail, he repeatedly criticised President Joe Biden’s flagship climate bill – the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). He called the $370bn federal programme a “green new scam”, and pledged to “terminate” it.
Some clean energy projects – both planned and ongoing – have been halted, including Canadian solar manufacturer Heliene, which paused a $150m plan to manufacture solar cells in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The election sent renewable stocks tumbling. NextEra, America’s largest clean energy company, fell by 5 percent. Plug Power – a hydrogen fuel cell developer – shed a fifth of its value, while solar company Sunrun dipped by almost 30 percent.
…