Will Chris Wright derail the renewable energy market?
That’s the question a lot of energy investors are asking, now that Trump has nominated the man who once said that there is no energy transition happening right now.
To be sure, he said this in an effort to continue his vilification of those who find the data on climate change to be sound. Not to mention the renewable energy industry in general.
Of course, only a fool believes the quest to integrate more renewable energy into our energy economy is directly connected to climate change mitigation. Because the truth is, it’s really just about money.
Chris Wright is an Idealogue, not an Energy Expert
The bottom line is that in many cases, renewable energy is already becoming one of the most affordable options for utility companies. And that’s why this energy transition is well underway. This, despite Chris Wright’s inability to embrace truth over a misguided ideology.
You see, while costs for fossil fuel production continue to rise (albeit quite slowly), costs for solar and wind production continue to fall dramatically.
Of course, while some renewable energy bulls are concerned about Wright derailing all the progress we’ve seen on renewable energy integration over the past 20 years, I’m not worried at all. Because at this point, the renewable energy industry is just too powerful to dismantle.
In fact, even while many Red State politicians have backed anti-renewable energy rhetoric on the campaign trail, they will likely oppose any efforts to stall the renewable energy sector because renewable energy has sparked massive investments in those states.
From August, 2022 to August, 2023, nearly $70 billion worth of renewable energy manufacturing investments were made in these red states …
With that kind of scratch ponied up for domestic manufacturing, good luck trying to put the brakes on it now.
Today, renewable energy jobs comprise more than 40% of the 8.35 million people working in the energy industry. And according to the DOE’s annual U.S. Energy and Employment Report, while employment also continues to rise in the fossil fuels sector, employment in solar and wind project development is climbing at a faster rate.
The point is, while Chris Wright may hate renewable energy more than slugs hate salt, he won’t likely be able to stop this very real energy transition that has been underway for about two decades now.
Even if he doesn’t believe it to be true. And that’s why I maintain that you shouldn’t let this new Energy Secretary pick dissuade you from having some exposure to the renewable energy space. I continue to like Enphase (NASDAQ: ENPH), which is an absolute bargain at these levels, GE Vernova (NYSE: GEV), and Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital (NYSE: IIPR), which offers a very generous 6% dividend.
