Donald Trump declares a national energy crisis in the United States. He says this in his inaugural address shortly after being sworn in as the country's president.
- The inflation crisis was caused by massive overconsumption and escalating energy prices, and that is why today I am declaring a national energy crisis, he says.
He wants to focus on oil and gas extraction, which is a clear departure from former President Joe Biden's climate-focused policy. Trump says that the United States will have the largest reserves of both oil and gas, and that he intends to exploit both energy sources.
- We will drill, baby, drill, the speech says.
This is a repetition of a statement he made during a press conference on January 7th in Mar-a-Lago in the state of Florida.
Wind turbines are garbage
Here he emphasized that he intends to roll back a ban on new gas and oil drilling in large American ocean areas.
At the same time, he made it clear that he has no qualms about wind turbines. Trump will thus try to ensure that no new wind turbines are built in the United States, it was said on January 7th. He referred to wind turbines as "garbage" scattered across the American landscape, and said that wind turbines "drive whales crazy".
- Energy from wind turbines is the most expensive form of energy ever, Trump said at the time.
In his inauguration speech on Monday, the president did not continue his direct fight against wind turbines, as was the case two weeks ago. This is something that has been noticed by the industry organization Green Power Denmark, which calls it "a small glimmer of green light in an otherwise oil-black inauguration speech".
- Wind turbines are the cheapest energy technology on the market, and if the American focus is to fight inflation and improve the competitiveness of companies, they must build many more wind turbines, says Kristian Jensen, CEO of Green Power Denmark, in a press release.
- But there is no doubt that the United States will prioritize fossil fuels at the federal level. It will make the USA a black island in a green sea.
During the Biden administration, the so-called Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was put into place. It is a legislative package with support schemes for, among other things, the expansion of wind power. Trump will drop that plan, he has said. And the money that has not already been spent will be spent on something else.
Danish companies such as Vestas and Ørsted have benefited from the legislative package. Back in 2023, the latter said that it was directly responsible for "unprecedented political tailwinds" for the renewable energy sector.
Updated: 19:42 with reaction from Green Power Denmark
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