Harris v. Trump On Clean Energy

September 5, 2024

The Contrast: Clean Energy Jobs

Harris’ tie-breaking vote on the clean energy plan delivered a clean energy boom to America, which has created more than 330,000 clean energy jobs. During his presidency, Trump’s war on clean energy cost Americans 1.1 million clean energy jobs. He’s now vowing to double down – promising to end clean energy investments, threatening our clean energy boom and putting 1.7 million jobs at risk.

Harris Supported Job-Creating Clean Energy Legislation In The Senate, Including The Clean Energy Plan, Which Has Created More Than 330,000 Jobs

Thanks to VP Harris’ tie-breaking vote, the clean energy plan has created more than 330,000 jobs and spurred hundreds of billions of dollars in private sector investments.
As vice president, Harris traveled all across America touting the clean energy plan’s creation of a new clean energy economy and investments in clean water.
VP Harris promoted the clean energy plan’s investment in “creating millions of good-paying, clean energy jobs” while “rebuilding America’s manufacturing” and “driving American innovation.”
As a U.S. Senator, Harris co-sponsored the National Climate Bank Act, which aimed to invest billions of dollars into climate and clean energy projects across the country, creating millions of jobs in the clean energy industry.
As a U.S. Senator, Harris co-sponsored the Community Energy Savings Program Act, which proposed low-interest financing for consumers to upgrade their homes to be more energy-efficient, reducing energy costs for consumers and reducing carbon pollution. The legislation aimed to bolster infrastructure upgrades to spur new clean energy jobs.
Harris supported the Good Jobs For 21st Century Act, which aimed to ensure good-paying union jobs and worker protections for clean energy jobs.

Trump Cost The U.S. Over A Million Clean Energy Jobs – And He Has Vowed To End Clean Energy Investments, Jeopardizing More American Jobs

Trump’s attacks on clean energy as president cost Americans 1.1 million clean energy jobs.
If Trump wins, he will end investments in clean energy, jeopardizing American jobs and hurting communities across the country that are already seeing the benefits of investments in the clean energy economy of the future.
A second Trump term would threaten 40 planned clean energy projects on federal land. During Trump’s previous term in office, the Bureau of Land Management slowed renewable energy progress made by former President Barack Obama.
A study on Trump’s Project 2025 climate and energy plans found that Project 2025 could cost Americans 1.7 million jobs in 2030.

The Contrast: Solar

As Vice President, Harris championed the solar industry. She cast the tie-breaking vote for the clean energy plan, which established tax credits for solar and invested $7 billion in residential solar to save Americans $350 million annually. While visiting a solar manufacturing facility, Harris announced a historic $2.5 billion investment in community solar – helping Americans save on their energy costs while cutting harmful air pollution. When Trump was in office, he crushed the solar industry – eliminating the solar investment tax credit, imposing tariffs on solar panels, and slow-walked projects, losing out on 62,000 clean energy jobs in the sector alone. Trump’s Project 2025 plans have called for blocking solar expansion.

As Vice President, Harris Championed Solar Through The Clean Energy Plan

Thanks to Harris’ tie-breaking vote, the administration passed the clean energy plan, which established tax credits for solar energy projects, including a 20 percent bonus credit for solar projects that sell electricity to low-income households, which will support enough electricity to power 2.5 million homes in the next ten years.
In 2023, Harris visited a solar panel factory in Georgia to announce a $2.5 billion expansion to the factory, which was the largest community solar investment in U.S. history, enough to power 140,000 homes and businesses across three states.
- The solar project was made possible by tax credits in the clean energy plan, which was passed with Harris’ tie-breaking vote.
While Harris was Vice President, the administration announced $7 billion in solar for all grants to deliver residential solar, saving low-income Americans $350 million annually.
In 2024, the Interior Department reduced fees for renewable energy producers and finalized an update to the Bureau of Land Management’s Renewable Energy Rule, which reduced fees for wind and solar projects on public lands by 80%.
In 2023, the DOE announced $45 million in funding, including $18 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to support domestic manufacturing of key solar panel components.

Trump Attacked The Solar Industry And Will Double Down In A Second Term

While in office, Trump imposed tariffs on solar panels, which resulted in the U.S. losing 62,000 solar jobs. Trump also delayed the leasing and planning processes for renewable energy projects.
In 2019, the Trump administration eliminated the solar investment tax credit.

In 2020, Trump’s Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a rule that cut funding for small solar projects.
Trump said solar was “massively expensive.” However, solar projects are the cheapest source of power.
Trump lied about solar not being able to power factories. A study found that up to 35% of the manufacturing sector could run completely on solar power.
Trump falsely claimed wind and solar received subsidies while oil and gas did not, when in fact, fossil fuels took in an estimated $14 billion in tax breaks and subsidies in 2022 alone.

Trump’s Project 2025 called for blocking the expansion of the electrical grid for wind and solar and shuttering the Department of Energy’s (DOE) renewable energy offices, including the DOE’s Loan Program Office, which has made commitments of more than $27 billion in clean energy deals since the clean energy plan was passed and created over 46,800 permanent jobs over the lifetime of the office.
- A study on Trump’s Project 2025 climate and energy plans found that Project 2025 could cost Americans 1.7 million jobs in 2030.
Project 2025 would increase electricity prices and reliance on petroleum for vehicles, costing an additional $32 billion across all households in 2030 and $24 billion in 2050.

The Contrast: Wind

As Vice President, Harris turbocharged the wind industry by casting the deciding vote on the clean energy plan, which boosted onshore wind production. Harris made history as part of the administration by announcing the first offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico. Meanwhile, Trump has gone to war with the wind industry and consistently spread conspiracy theories about wind turbines – claiming they kill birds, hurt property values, and make whales go crazy. Should Trump win, he has vowed to end wind subsidies and end offshore wind on day one.

Harris Championed The U.S. Wind Industry, Which Was Turbocharged By The Administration’s Investments

Harris’ tie-breaking vote passed the clean energy plan, which spurred onshore wind production and boosted domestic manufacturing of clean energy technologies.
In 2021, VP Harris toured the wind turbine research and sustainable energy labs at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, saying the administration’s clean energy plan “will invest in R&D so the U.S. can create jobs, address the climate crisis, and spur new technological breakthroughs.”
In 2023, VP Harris celebrated the groundbreaking of the Ten West Link, a transmission line that will connect Southern California and Central Arizona to deliver clean, reliable, and affordable electricity. In her remarks about the transmission line, VP Harris said, “It will deliver electricity from wind and solar farms out here in the desert, to big cities like Phoenix and Los Angeles and San Diego.”
While Harris was Vice President, the Interior Department reduced fees for renewable energy producers and finalized an update to the Bureau of Land Management’s Renewable Energy Rule, which reduced fees for wind and solar projects on public lands by 80%.
While Harris was Vice President, the Department of the Interior held the first-ever offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico.
While Harris was Vice President, the Department of Energy announced investments to secure U.S. leadership in floating offshore wind development through planning, research, and technology, funded by the clean energy plan. It will reduce the cost of floating offshore wind energy by more than 70% by 2035.
While Harris was Vice President, the Departments of the Interior and Energy released an Action Plan for Offshore Wind Transmission Development in the U.S. Atlantic Region, which outlines the immediate steps needed to connect the first generation of offshore wind projects to the electric grid. The report also outlines longer-term efforts to support transmission needs for the next several decades.

Trump Waged An All Out War Against Wind Energy

Trump’s disdain for wind dates back to 2006, when he bought land in Scotland for a golf course next to a planned wind farm. Trump sued in an attempt to stop the wind farm, but ultimately lost his challenge, and the project was completed in 2018.
Trump has vowed to end wind subsidies and pledged to end offshore wind on day one via executive order.
Project 2025 called for blocking the expansion of the electrical grid for wind and solar and shuttering the Department of Energy’s renewable energy offices.
Project 2025 would increase electricity prices and reliance on petroleum for vehicles, costing an additional $32 billion across all households in 2030 and $24 billion in 2050.

Trump Pushed Weird, Unproven Conspiracy Theories About Wind

Trump has falsely said that windmills cause cancer, that wind “kills all the birds” and large numbers of whales.
Trump claimed that windmills were driving whales “crazy” and “a little batty.”
Trump claimed offshore wind turbines break down when exposed to saltwater.
Trump claimed that having a windmill near a house hurt property values.
Trump claimed wind farms had to be rebuilt every ten years.
Trump claimed “intermittent” wind energy would prevent people from watching television and that wind-powered electricity doesn’t work when the wind doesn’t blow.

The Contrast: Electric Vehicles (EVs)

Harris has a record of powering the made-in-America electric vehicle (EV) industry by supporting EV manufacturing and delivering consumer tax credits, which have already given more than $1 billion in direct tax savings to Americans. Harris was a big proponent of the clean energy plan, which invested $7.5 billion in EV charging, $10 billion in clean transportation, and over $7 billion in EV battery components, critical minerals, and materials. As president, Trump rolled back clean car standards and wanted to end EV tax credits. Trump has continued to spread lies about EVs, and his attacks threaten the auto industry, which has seen significant growth thanks to the clean energy plan. Trump has vowed to end EV incentives and slow EV progress if elected.

Harris Championed The U.S. EV Industry

Harris said electric vehicles are “the future” and announced $100 million in funding for auto-parts manufacturers to expand their facilities to boost production of electric vehicle supplies.
Harris touted the electric vehicle investments within the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support building a national network of EV charging stations.
In her 2020 presidential campaign, Harris called for expanding the electric vehicle tax credit to ensure low—and middle-income families benefited from the transition to electric vehicles.
In her 2020 presidential campaign, Harris called for all new buses, heavy-duty vehicles, and vehicle fleets to be zero-emission.
In the Senate, Harris introduced the Clean School Bus Act of 2019 to replace school buses with electric ones, which was included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s passage.

Under VP Harris, The Administration Funded Projects, Announced Grants, And Set Goals To Support The EV Transition

Harris’ tie-breaking vote passed the clean energy plan, which provides a credit equal to 30% of the sales prices of a used EV, up to $4,000, as well as a tax credit of up to $7,500 for a new EV.
- As of June 2024, the federal government has issued more than $1 billion in EV tax credits.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invested $7.5 billion in EV charging, $10 billion in clean transportation, and over $7 billion in EV battery components.
- While Harris was Vice President, the Department of Transportation and Energy announced it would invest $325 million in programs to advance EV technology, repair EV chargers, and cut battery costs.
In March of 2024, the EPA issued new pollution standards that aimed to boost EV and hybrid sales. The new standards would prevent more than 7 billion tons of carbon pollution over the next 30 years, providing nearly $100 billion in annual net benefits.
While Harris was VP, the EPA laid out the first-ever national goal to transition to a zero-emissions freight sector along with a commitment to develop a national zero-emissions freight strategy.

Trump Gutted Clean Car Standards And Tried To End EV Tax Credits. Now, He’s Promising To Rollback Our EV Progress

In 2018, Trump proposed rolling back clean car standards following a lobbying campaign by Big Oil. In 2020, the Trump administration finalized the rollbacks, which added nearly a billion additional metric tons of CO2 and required consumers to purchase 80 billion more gallons of gas.
After the Trump administration proposed eliminating the EV tax credit, it left solar and EV tax credits out of a 2019 spending deal.

Trump has repeatedly vowed to repeal the administration’s EV incentives and has attacked EV subsidies under the clean energy plan, which have already delivered more than $1 billion in tax savings to consumers.
Project 2025 would increase electricity prices and reliance on petroleum for vehicles, costing an additional $32 billion across all households in 2030 and $24 billion in 2050.

In The Senate, Harris Opposed Trump’s Attacks On Clean Cars

Harris opposed the Trump administration’s rollback of clean car standards, calling it “an attack on the state,” and supported reinstating federal clean car standards to reduce pollution.
In the Senate, Harris cosponsored several bills aimed at reducing vehicle pollution:
- Harris cosponsored the Zero-Emission Vehicles Act of 2019, which required the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a zero-emission passenger vehicle standard by 2040, and approved a clean car vehicle credit program.
- Harris cosponsored the GAS MONEY Saved Act, which prevented the Environmental Protection Agency from reducing the stringency of vehicle pollution standards.
- In the Senate, Harris sponsored a resolution expressing support for the One National Program, which established that the federal government has the power to set fuel economy standards to reduce pollution and protect public health.

Trump Frequently Attacked EVs, Spreading Misinformation About Their Impact On The Auto Industry, Charging Capacity, Range, And Cost, While Embracing Elon Musk

Trump claimed clean energy policies would destroy all auto jobs in the next two years, and “decimate” the state of Michigan. Trump has also claimed that auto companies lose $60,000 on every electric vehicle they manufacture and that EVs would make them go bankrupt. However, the transition to EVs would increase U.S. auto manufacturing jobs because of vertical integration and onshoring production.
Trump has said that nobody wants to buy EVs because they are too expensive and claimed that only five percent of Americans want an EV. In reality, EV sales were headed towards a record year in 2024.

Trump said EVs can only drive for a half hour before they need to be recharged, that they “are too expensive, don’t go far enough, take too long to charge,” that EVs don’t work in cold weather, and said they were dangerous “under certain atmospheric conditions.”
Trump complained about the cost of building EV chargers and claimed that it would cost “more money than the United States has” to build enough EV chargers, and that it would cost $10 trillion.

Trump claimed that EV batteries were bad for the environment and repeatedly claimed that materials for EV batteries were only found in China and that all EVs would be made in China.
Trump said EVs would “strain the grid to the breaking point” and that the U.S. didn’t have the electric capacity to sustain EVs. Trump has also said that the electric capacity for EVs was from petroleum products and fossil fuels.

Trump has attacked electric trucks and army tanks, arguing that electric trucks need to constantly be recharged, have low range, and are unable to pull the necessary weight. Trump criticized the administration for investing in all-electric Army tanks, claiming they would “not be able to go very far.”
Trump has softened his EV rhetoric while embracing Tesla CEO Elon Musk and has bragged about Musk’s support.