Trump Signs Executive Order Targeting Solar, Wind Energy Tax Credits

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on July 7 directing his administration to end federal subsidies for solar and wind energy facilities, citing their unreliability and dependence on foreign-controlled supply chains.

In his order, Trump stated that these types of renewable energy sources are expensive, compromise the nation’s electric grid, and threaten national security.

The order will enforce the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law on July 4, which effectively ends renewable energy tax credits after 2026 for projects that have not begun construction. Wind and solar projects that start construction after that must be placed in service by the end of 2027 to qualify. Under previous law, developers could have claimed a 30 percent tax credit through 2032.

“Ending the massive cost of taxpayer handouts to unreliable energy sources is vital to energy dominance, national security, economic growth, and the fiscal health of the nation,” Trump stated in Monday’s order.

The order directs Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent to take action within 45 days of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s enactment to enforce the termination of tax credits for solar and wind energy facilities.

It also instructs the Interior Department to review and eliminate policies and regulations that give preferential treatment to wind and solar projects over “dispatchable energy sources” such as coal-fired power plants.

CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association Abigail Ross Hopper said in a July 3 statement that the bill marked “a significant step backwards” for the U.S. energy economy, warning that it would force many new solar factories to shut down.

“It is especially disheartening to witness the total disregard for the thousands of small businesses in the residential solar sector that were given only months to reinvent themselves,” Hopper said.

The White House did not return a request for comment by publication time.

In a Fox News interview that aired on June 29, Trump suggested shifting to oil and coal energy sources, citing the negative impact of solar and wind power on the nation’s natural landscape.

“I don’t want windmills destroying our place. I don’t want these solar things where they go for miles and they cover up half a mountain that are ugly as hell. And by the way, the panels are all made, and the windmills, they’re all made in China,” he said.

Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 20 directing federal agencies to review existing regulations that restricted the use of domestic energy resources—particularly coal, hydropower, and nuclear energy resources—and declared a national energy emergency to expedite the development of the nation’s energy infrastructure.

January’s order states that “burdensome and ideologically motivated regulations have impeded the development of these resources, limited the generation of reliable and affordable electricity, reduced job creation, and inflicted high energy costs upon our citizens.”

Reuters contributed to this report.