The solar and wind industries have never looked more vulnerable.
Just weeks ago, Congress passed a policy and budget package billed as fiscal reform that, in reality, takes direct aim at clean energy. Critical tax credits are set to sunset in 2027. Foreign content rules that will sharply increase the cost of new projects arrive just as we need to bring huge amounts of new capacity online. Experts warn of 830,000 jobs lost, skyrocketing energy bills and investor confusion.
Clean energy entrepreneurs are resilient. We have all ridden the “solar coaster” over the past two decades. But like hope, resilience isn’t a strategy. We are no longer operating under the radar. Powerful interests have put our industry in the crosshairs. It’s time we take full responsibility for our political license to operate.
This isn’t a policy accident. It’s a calculated attack by our political opponents, threatening not only the economic and social upside of the clean energy transition but also the ability of U.S. companies to secure reliable, advanced energy technologies that future-proof their operations.
And the hardest truth? It passed because we were unprepared.
Despite clear wins in cost, innovation and job creation, renewables remain politically underpowered. Our trade associations play a vital role. But we now spend less on influence and education than we did a decade ago, while our opposition spends more than ever. Real political power demands more: smarter communications, grassroots organizing, clean energy champions in elected office at every level — and above all, money.
It’s time for a wartime footing
The new budget bill wasn’t a victory for the fossil fuel industry. Rather, MAGA politics beat us, by out-organizing, out-communicating and outlasting us in the places where power is actually decided.
We must adopt a wartime footing. Survival requires unity, speed and resourcefulness. Political power can no longer be optional. It must be treated as essential infrastructure.
Wartime footing doesn’t mean panic. It means clarity of purpose and firm resolve. It means that every employee, CEO, subcontractor and policymaker understands they are part of something bigger.
We’ve seen this before. When Saudi Arabia flooded the oil market in 2014 to crush U.S. fracking, American drillers responded like it was a hurricane. They cut costs, consolidated and coordinated — from city halls to Congress. They didn’t just survive. They adapted and came back stronger.
Now it’s renewable energy’s turn. The real fight isn’t in Washington anymore. It’s in statehouses, utility commissions, local permitting battles and public opinion. Congress dropped a bomb, but we can decide where the next battle is fought.
States are the new battleground
This war isn’t over. The balance of power has shifted to the states. From California’s interconnection queue to Texas’ battles over distributed generation, the policies shaping our future are local. State commissions, permitting boards and zoning councils are often dominated by NIMBY voices or fossil-backed interests. We can’t let that stand. That’s where the public is, where the friction lives and where our momentum is strongest — if we show up.
California shows both the risk and the opportunity. With federal support retreating, Sacramento now bears national leadership responsibility. SB 541, led by Senators Josh Becker and Henry Stern, offers a blueprint: lowering costs by enabling smart batteries, EV chargers and thermostats — the same technologies that the Trump administration has penalized. California is doubling down on flexibility, affordability and grid resilience while others retreat.
But the stakes are rising. Grids everywhere are straining from heat waves, AI-driven demand and aging infrastructure. One in six U.S. families is behind on its utility bills. Clean, distributed power must now move from backup to backbone and prove it works at scale.
Meanwhile, Texas offers a case study in post-partisan progress. In the last legislative session, three Senate-passed anti-renewable bills died in committee after a coalition of clean energy employers, rural co-ops and oil and gas groups mobilized. They warned lawmakers that blocking renewables would stall economic growth and raise energy costs.
ERCOT’s numbers back them up: blackout risk fell from 12 percent to 0.3 percent over the last year as solar and battery capacity surged. Prices stayed 24 percent below the national average.
This wasn’t luck. It was organizing. Texas shows that when renewables are treated as infrastructure, not ideology, practical policy follows. That’s the model to replicate.
A worrying shift in public support
Policy isn’t the only thing under pressure. Public support is slipping. A recent AP-NORC poll shows declining enthusiasm for solar tax credits and offshore wind, even among Democrats. Pew reports that Republican support for solar farms has dropped 20 points since 2020. Over 15 percent of U.S. counties have banned or blocked utility-scale clean energy projects.
This isn’t a blip. It’s a warning. Clean energy has the economics. But our narrative is losing ground. And that has political consequences.
When support weakens, it becomes easier for opponents to repeal incentives or spread disinformation. Without voter pressure, lawmakers face no cost for siding with fossil fuel interests. If we lose the cultural narrative, we lose the political mandate.
Four moves to win the political war
1. Shape public opinion with a coordinated media strategy
Too many Americans still believe wind and solar are more expensive than coal, or that batteries aren’t safe. That’s not just a messaging problem; it threatens deployment. The industry needs a unified, well-funded communications strategy to shift public perception and tell powerful stories: EVs keep our air clean, rooftop solar cuts monthly bills and batteries provide resilience in blackouts. Public sentiment isn’t a side issue. It’s core political infrastructure.
2. Mobilize at the grassroots
Showing up means having a steady, local presence. Solar installers at rate hearings. Co-op members writing op-eds. Students organizing school campaigns. When neighbors speak up about energy choices, elected officials listen. We need real people with real stakes, backed by training and support, making their voices heard.
3. Align with workers and consumers — always
Every clean energy message should start with American workers and American families. Clean energy must prioritize good jobs and lower costs. These aren’t competing goals — they’re reinforcing. We can grow union careers and cut monthly bills. Projects from Intersect Power, Form Energy and the DOE Loan Programs Office prove it’s already happening. Every message and policy should reflect that reality.
4. Elect supporters
We need more elected officials who’ve built clean energy firsthand. Leaders like Illinois Rep. Sean Casten, California Rep. Mike Levin and New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich bring practical expertise to public service. Developers, entrepreneurs and installers should be encouraged to run in both parties. No one speaks for this work better than those who’ve done it.
Most importantly: fund the fight
None of this matters without resources. The opposition funds advocacy like it funds pipelines. We treat it like a line item to minimize. That must change. We need to invest in organizing, education, regulatory strategy and legal defense exponentially to what we now spend.
Let’s be clear: the Big Beautiful Bill didn’t pass on merit. It passed because we didn’t have the power to stop it.
We’ve already won the battlefield of economics. But politics is not won by Moore’s Law; it’s won by muscle. If we don’t adopt a wartime footing and build the political infrastructure to match, we risk losing everything we’ve created.
But we won’t. Because we’ve learned. This industry is filled with builders—of projects, companies, careers and futures. Now we must build political power too. That means starting small, scaling fast and staying with it for the long haul. We know how to deploy capital, manage timelines and build coalitions. Let’s bring those skills to organizing and show what happens when clean energy fights back.
