President Trump has spoken out again against the use of wind energy, saying the federal government will no longer support the construction of windmill projects. During a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump told reporters that he was opposed to the use of windmills due to their inefficiency and environmental damage.
“We’re not allowing any windmills to go up,” Trump said. “Unless there is a legal situation where somebody committed to it a long time ago we don’t allow windmills and we don’t want the solar panels.”
Trump has remained steadfast in his stance against the use of wind energy. Trump stated his reasons for opposing wind and solar, including inefficiency, wasted space and interference with land that could be used for agriculture.
“They take up thousands of acres of our farmland. You see these big ugly patches of black plastic that comes from China,” Trump said. “I like solar in some ways, but for firing up your big plants it doesn’t work. It’s very unstable.”
Trump continued by noting the negative economic effects that wind and solar energy projects have had in other countries. “If you look at the U.K. energy costs have gone through the roof. It’s because of wind,” Trump said.
He also pointed out that wind and solar energy have been prioritized over the development of natural oil and gas resources. “They want to…close up the northern parts of the country. They have oil. It’s tremendous, and they closed it up and they’ve been building windmills all over the place.”
Trump said he had not hesitated to share his thoughts on windmills with the leaders of other countries.
“I tell them, you’re my friends but you’re going to have a bad awakening very soon,” Trump said. “They’re ugly, they don’t work, they kill your birds, they’re bad for the environment, and if you look at them from a house, your house is worth less than 50%. So I’m trying to have people learn about wind real fast and I think I’ve done a good job but not good enough because some countries are still trying and they’re destroying themselves.”
Trump emphasized the importance of pursuing reliable forms of energy over nonviable alternatives.
“I hope they get back to fossil fuel,” Trump said. “Because right now, whether we like it or not, fossil fuel is the thing that works, and then you can add nuclear with it and other things but fossil fuel is what works if we’re going to fire up those big monster factories.”