By Gabby Cournoyer

“We will drill, baby drill” is the infamous quote from Donald Trump that has been stated on a multitude of occasions. Throughout his entire presidential campaign, Trump made it incredibly clear that one of his main goals was to “reclaim” energy, electricity generation, and capital within the United States, and he has wasted no time getting that ball rolling. 

While Trump frames this goal as a positive step in the right direction for the pockets and security of the average American, he leaves out many facts about renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, and hydroelectric) that do not align with his “drill baby drill” mindset. 

How effective is renewable energy?

Many critiques of renewable energy include complaints and worries about the price, security, and the feasibility of reliance on renewable energy sources for power generation. A decade ago, one could argue that renewable energy was skeptical and more data needed to be collected and analyzed before we made the switch. 

In the year 2025, the data has been collected, the analysts have extensively picked through the data, and the science goes to show that renewable energy may hold more solutions and positives than Trump gives it credit for.

Is renewable energy affordable?

One of the biggest areas of concern about renewable energy sources is pricing and affordability. Renewable energy in the past has been framed as something that is super expensive and not as much of a bang-for-your-buck as non-renewables. Many Americans’ main area of concern when it comes to their electricity bill is not where its’ coming from, but rather, how much it costs – which is a super valid concern! 

In recent years, due to advancements in technology, increased manufacturing efficiencies, and infrastructure developments, the cost of renewable energy has decreased significantly. The U.S. Department of Energy reported that land-based, utility-scale wind turbines can provide one of the cheapest energy sources available in the United States today. The prices of solar technology have also declined significantly. Installation of solar technology has dropped in price by 89% between the years 2009 and 2019. 

Not only have these renewables become cheaper to install – they are even beating non-renewables in terms of price. A recent study found that in many states in the US, wind and solar power are now cheaper than coal when we measure the levelized cost over energy – which is a measurement that combines the average cost of building and running the respective power facility for the duration of its lifetime, per unit of energy. 

Is renewable energy accessible?

Another area of concern for many individuals is the extent to which we can rely on renewable energy sources – and if the use of renewable energy can even make a dent. The United States now has enough solar capacity to power 18 million homes and enough wind capacity to power another 32 million, stated an article by Climate Central. The expansion and development of renewable energy continues to increase. Under recent policy in the United States, electricity produced by all renewable sources is expected to double over the next three decades; mostly by wind and solar power systems. 

Other perks of renewable energy

Not only is renewable energy becoming more accessible, it is also creating jobs and significantly benefiting the economy. One of the Trump administration’s recent actions in lieu of the war on renewable energy was freezing over $7 billion in funding (that was previously awarded) to help low-income communities install rooftop solar panels. Wind and solar power, contrary to some beliefs, provide significant benefits to communities! 

To start, renewable energy employs hundreds of thousands of people in the United States, and renewables actually support more employment per unit of electricity than fossil-fuels do. In just the wind power industry alone, there are more than 150,000 people working in wind power across all 50 states. With the development of new wind power infrastructure, that number continues to increase. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics even found that wind turbine technicians are the fastest growing occupation of the past decade! As for the solar industry, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) found that in 2023 over 263,000 Americans were employed in the solar industry. 

Wind and solar power also provide significant economic benefits to their respective communities and the United States generally. Wind projects provide around $2 billion to state and local tax payments, as well as land-lease payments annually. In 2022, investments in new wind projects alone accounted for an additional $20 billion to the U.S. economy. Additionally, the SEIA reported that in 2023 the solar industry generated over $60 billion of private investment in the U.S. economy.

Renewable energy provides copious amounts of funds to the U.S. economy, tons of jobs for the American people, a unique solution to providing power (that doesn’t kill the planet), and many other unique benefits to communities. The U.S. possesses the second largest capacity for renewables in the world – and whether Trump believes renewables and protecting our planet is important or not, the United States will continue to lead in the renewable energy sector, and renewables will continue to offer many positive benefits for the American people and planet Earth.