October 5, 2025

The conservatives of my party have killed clean energy: it is time to resuscitate it

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Conservatives and me have spent decades to assert that renewable energies strengthen the independence of American energy, but those which have once required the absence of foreign oil now bristles with solar and wind energy.

I am a life republican who testified to the congress three times in favor of legislation to reform incentives to clean energy. Many of my conservative colleagues have sought to stifle the American industry with renewable energies in their pursuit of energy independence despite the wind and sparkling turbines in America. The industry is not impeccable: to link too closely to a left -wing climate crusade has alienated a lot to the right.

But the growing demand for demand for electricity and market forces now offer the industry an opportunity for resurrection: crop clean energy, not as an eco-virtual signaling, but as a central component of American competitiveness and independence.

Political calculation error

More than 80% of my republican colleagues supported wind and solar energy in 2020, but by 2025, this share fell to around 60%. The erosion of support is the result of a calculation error: renewable defenders have aligned themselves too closely on progressive climate policy, transforming an industry formerly adopted by a leftist cause, alienating the conservatives along the way.

Maga activists found their black beets, transforming “green energy” into an object of contempt. Republican officials who have formerly welcomed renewable projects in their districts now echo anti-renewable discussion points. Although 70% of American wind energy is generated in the red states (Texas alone obtains almost 30% of its electricity by the wind), wind energy has become a pariah among the basis of the GOP.

Market opportunity

The considerable increase in demand for electricity, driven by AI and electrification, can accomplish what policy does not have: to make the energy clean essential. Traditional sources cannot evolve fairly quickly: new nuclear and charcoal power plants are taking decades, and even natural gas cannot accelerate quickly enough to meet short -term demand.

On the other hand, wind, solar energy and battery installations can be built in fraction of time. Renewable energies provide zero marginal power at a cost and a study of the White House warns that if we do not manage to add a cheap capacity, AI -focused demand could send prices for arrow electricity by 2030. In short, renewable energies are no longer just a question of climate virtue; They are essential to keep the lights on and low energy bills.

Conservative

To win back the conservatives, renewable defenders must refound their message around freedom, security and free business – values that clean energy can defend.

Freedom: The Conservatives write personal freedom, which should include the freedom to generate your own power – a right already exercised by ordinary owners, not just the elites.

Security: National renewable energies are a fortress against foreign threats: solar panels generate energy for decades, with only clouds and a nightfall to fear. Wind turbines can operate for 25 years and their components are largely made in the United States. Once installed, no opponent can stop feeding the sun or wind.

Free company: Renewable energies often undermines fossil fuels on the cost, and with federal tax credits on clean energies exciting in 2027, the rules of the game will soon be leveled. Politicians that block renewable energies are not “pro-market”-if wind and solar energy are cheaper, let them compete. Far from being a Trojan horse for a great government, clean energy illustrates the free business to its best.

Way to go

The clean energy sector enters a period of makeup or breakup: federal tax credits expire in 2027, leaving a two -year window to strengthen incentives as much as possible. This imminent deadline has triggered a development blitz, compressing years of sprint growth. The loss of subsidies will harm, but it is also an opportunity for the industry to prove itself by reducing costs and innovating to compete.

Electricity prices have jumped 13% nationally since 2022, partly due to a inexpensive lack of supply – not because of “too” renewable energy that some claim it. Each increase in the utility rate only makes solar panels and batteries more attractive. If suppliers enter this moment to increase and reduce costs, they can prosper on merit rather than mandates.

Conclusion

The energy future of America should not be a partisan battlefield. Our prosperity and security depend on an abundant and affordable power of each source, including clean energy. Clean energy is not a progressive scam – it’s just a simple energy, and it aligns with conservative values. Let’s finish the war of energy culture and let the free markets feed the next era of growth so that America wins.

The opinions expressed in the Fortune.com comments are only the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.


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