Trump confirms intention to dismantle the Clean Power Plan

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

President-elect Donald Trump has confirmed his intentions to cancel the Clean Power Plan, in a video message outlining his plans for when he takes office in January.

During his election campaign, Trump made several references to his intent to dismantle not only Obama’s Clean Power Plan, but also US involvement with the Paris Climate Agreement and the solar investment tax credit.

His latest message stressed his designs in “putting America first” with promises to “bring back our jobs”.

On day one, Trump said he would cancel any restrictions on US energy production – of which the Clean Power Plan is one. The policy, aimed at fighting anthropogenic climate change, works by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by phasing out coal plants and allowing states to outline their own renewable and emissions reduction targets to reach the overarching goal of reducing carbon emissions by 32% by 2030 compared with 2005 levels.

Therefore, the Plan puts restrictions on coal plants for their harmful emissions which Trump vowed to ressurrect. 

“I will cancel job-killing restrictions on the production of American energy, including shale energy and clean coal, creating many millions of high-paying jobs,” Trump said.

“That's what we want – that's what we've been waiting for.”

For a concerted roll-back on regulations restriction American energy, the real estate tycoon pledged that for every new regulation brought into force, two existing regulations will be eliminated.

7 October 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
PV Tech has been running an annual PV CellTech Conference since 2016. PV CellTech USA, on 7-8 October 2025 is our third PV CellTech conference dedicated to the U.S. manufacturing sector. The events in 2023 and 2024 were a sell out success and 2025 will once again gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing in the U.S. out to 2030 and beyond.
21 October 2025
New York, USA
Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.
16 June 2026
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2027 and beyond.

Read Next

July 18, 2025
The average price of solar panels used in distributed generation projects in the US reached US$0.27/W by the first half of the year.
July 18, 2025
Georgia Power’s 2025 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) will see the utility aim to install 4GW of new renewable power capacity by 2035.
July 18, 2025
Decisions and actions related to the US Department of Interior (DoI) will ‘undergo elevated review’ of solar PV and wind facilities.
July 17, 2025
Indian solar manufacturers are among the targets of a new petition filed by US producers alleging illegal trade practices by overseas firms.
July 17, 2025
The California Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee has amended Assembly Bill 942 (AB 942) and removed a net metering amendment that would have affected residential solar owners’ rates when acquiring a home or property.
July 17, 2025
Corporate funding in the solar sector fell by 39% in the first half of 2025 compared with the same period last year.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico
Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 22, 2025
Bilbao, Spain
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK