Burgum signs order scaling back renewables over inefficient energy production

• Interior Secretary Doug Burgum signed an order restricting large-scale wind and solar projects on federal lands, prioritizing energy sources with higher “capacity density” (e.g., nuclear, fossil fuels) over sprawling renewable installations.
• Burgum criticized renewables as inefficient land use, favoring compact energy sources like nuclear (which produce thousands of times more energy per acre) and aligning with Trump’s “U.S. energy dominance” agenda.
•  The order threatens 35 solar and three wind projects awaiting federal permits, including approved ventures like Nevada’s Rough Hat Clark Solar Project, potentially undermining Biden-era climate policies.
• Opponents called the move politically motivated, arguing it favors fossil fuels despite minimal coal/gas use on federal lands. Critics highlighted lost job opportunities and contested claims that renewables threaten grid reliability.
• The order reflects a split between Trump’s push for deregulation/fossil fuels and Biden’s renewables-focused climate agenda, with legal challenges likely looming over the policy’s future.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has signed an order scaling back renewable energy projects, citing their minuscule energy production and inefficient use of land.

Burgum’s order signed Friday, Aug. 1, restricts large-scale wind and solar energy projects on federal lands. It also directs agencies to prioritize energy projects with higher “capacity density,” a metric measuring energy output per acre. The order explicitly favors compact energy sources like nuclear plants – which produce as much as 5,500 times more energy per acre than offshore wind farms – over sprawling wind and solar installations.

“This commonsense order ensures our nation is stronger, our land use is optimized and the American people are properly informed,” the former North Dakota governor said in a statement. He argued that wind and solar farms are an inefficient use of land compared to nuclear, coal and natural gas facilities.

Burgum framed the directive as part of President Donald Trump’s broader push for “U.S. energy dominance.” The order follows two of the real estate mogul’s executive orders (EOs), including a July 7 directive decrying subsidies for “unreliable, foreign-controlled energy sources” like wind and solar. In January of this year, Trump signed an EO declaring a “national energy emergency.” (Related: Trump declares national energy emergency to revive American energy dominance.)

The interior secretary’s Friday order could derail dozens of renewable energy proposals already in development. It casts uncertainty over 35 pending solar projects and three wind projects awaiting federal permits, including already-approved ventures like Nevada’s Rough Hat Clark Solar Project. Given this, critics warn the move could stifle a key sector of U.S. climate policy during the term of former President Joe Biden.

Trump’s renewables rollback: Job killer or grid savior?

Industry groups and environmental advocates slammed the move as politically motivated, arguing it favors fossil fuels despite federal lands rarely being used for coal or gas power plants. The Biden administration had accelerated renewable energy development on public lands as part of its climate agenda.

“The large tracts of land in Nevada that were going to host solar installations don’t have fossil fuel resources,” said Michael Gerrard, director of Columbia Law School‘s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. “So it’s not a matter of fossil being a more efficient use of that land. They’re not competing for this acreage.”

Xavier Boatright, legislative director for clean energy and electrification at the Sierra Club, dubbed offshore wind a missed opportunity for jobs and energy independence. “Young people, small business owners and farmers all stand to suffer if these projects disappear,” he lamented.

Historically, federal support for renewables has fluctuated with each administration. The 1978 Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act first encouraged alternative energy, while the Obama-era Clean Power Plan prioritized wind and solar.

Burgum’s latest order lines up with Trump’s arguments that intermittent renewables threaten grid reliability. While grid analysts and renewable advocates contest this claim, real-life examples such as those in Europe highlight why putting all the eggs in the renewables basket isn’t exactly a good idea.

As legal challenges loom, the order underscores a deepening divide. One side views renewables as wasteful land use, the other as essential to a decarbonized future. But for the Trump administration, renewables don’t fit with its goal of energy dominance for America.

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Watch Doug Burgum telling Greta Van Susteren that energy needs to be produced in America instead of being imported from elsewhere in this interview on Newsmax.

This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.

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Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

DOI.gov

EENews.net

Brighteon.com