US Moving Back to Coal? Iowa Sticks with Wind

Energy Secretary Chris Wright visits Iowa to announce plans to end
wind energy subsidies, despite Iowa generating 60% of its
electricity from wind power that has become cheaper than fossil
fuels. While the Trump administration pushes to revive coal and
reduce renewable research funding, market forces continue driving
utilities toward wind and solar. Sign up now for Uptime Tech News,
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YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the
show? Email us! This week's news flash is about power and
politics. And the two collided in Iowa of all places. Iowa is farm
state in the middle of America's heartland crucial for presidential
hopefuls. It's the first major contest where candidates rise or
fall. Smart politicians know: upset Iowa voters at your own peril.
But here's what makes this interesting. Iowa generates more
electricity from wind than any other state. Sixty percent of their
power comes from those spinning turbines. Wind energy has become
Iowa's economic engine. The irony? US Energy Secretary Chris Wright
just visited Ames National Laboratory in Iowa. He praised the lab
as a premier scientific institution. Then he dropped a bombshell:
it's time to end government support for wind energy. Wright says
wind power has been subsidized for thirty-three years. Time to
compete without training wheels. But here's what he didn't mention:
wind energy is now one of the cheapest sources of electricity in
America. Even without subsidies, renewables cost less than oil,
gas, and coal. Energy costs are everything in America. What we pay
for electricity determines what we pay for everything else.
Manufacturing, artificial intelligence, keeping the lights on at
home. Energy Secretary Wright talks about reindustrializing
America. He wants to win the race on artificial intelligence. Stop
upward pressure on electricity prices. Those are noble goals. But
here's the twist: the cheapest electricity in America comes from
wind and solar power. Not oil. Not gas. Not coal. The Lazard LCOE
analysis proves it year after year. Renewable energy costs have
plummeted while fossil fuel prices remain volatile. Iowa figured
this out years ago. They didn't choose wind power because they love
polar bears. They chose it because it's cheap, reliable, and keeps
electricity bills low. Wright's DOE budget would slash renewable
energy research by more than fifty percent. The National Renewable
Energy Laboratory would lose half its funding. But markets don't
care about politics. They care about profits. And the lowest-cost
energy wins every time. Here's where the story gets complicated.
Wright is absolutely right about one thing: America depends too
heavily on China for critical minerals. Sixty percent of rare earth
elements. Ninety percent of processing. These materials power our
phones, electric cars, and military equipment. China's grip on this
supply chain threatens national security. The Energy Department
will invest one billion dollars to bring mining and processing
home. Smart move. But here's the irony: many of these critical
minerals are essential for wind turbines and solar panels. The very
technologies Wright wants to defund. Alaska holds forty-nine
critical minerals. Refining them increases their value by six
hundred fifty percent. So which is it? Do we want energy
independence through domestic mining? Or do we want to slow the
industries that need those materials most? Wind turbines do need
rare earth magnets. Solar panels need refined silicon. Energy
storage needs lithium and cobalt. You can't have domestic energy
security without domestic renewable energy. They're the same fight,
they are just wearing different uniforms. Recently, Secretary
Wright commissioned five scientists to review climate assessments.
Their conclusion: carbon dioxide warming appears less economically
damaging than believed. Climate activists call this science denial.
Wright calls it getting discourse back to facts. But here's what
both sides miss: the economics have already decided. Wind power in
Iowa didn't grow because of climate regulations. It grew because
Iowa farmers could lease their land for guaranteed income. Because
utilities could buy cheap electricity. Because manufacturers wanted
stable energy costs. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
says human influence on warming is established fact. Wright says
climate change isn't the world's greatest problem. Meanwhile, Iowa
keeps building wind farms. To save money on electric bills. The
beauty of market economics? You don't need to agree on the problem
to agree on the solution. Cheap energy is cheap energy. Whether
you're a climate scientist or a climate skeptic. Mother Nature
doesn't vote. But she does send the bill. Solar and wind stocks
soared after a leaked Treasury document revealed the Trump
administration's plans for safe harboring of renewable projects.
Instead of killing renewable tax credits, they're preserving most
of them. The guidance requires actual construction to start, not
just spending five percent of costs. But it allows work to begin
offsite and maintains four-year completion windows. NextEra Energy
stock jumped about 5% on the news. First Solar surged around 13%
Why the market optimism? Because investors understand something
politicians sometimes forget: cheap energy creates wealth. Iowa's
wind industry will survive these changes. Why? Because wind power
in Iowa is profitable with or without tax credits. The economics
work. That's the difference between subsidizing infant industries
and supporting mature technologies that already win on price. The
market has spoken. Here's the final chapter in our energy story.
Secretary Wright renewed the National Coal Council charter,
terminated under President Biden. Coal supports hundreds of
thousands of jobs, he says. Adds tens of billions to the economy.
True enough. Coal built industrial America. Coal powers steel
mills. Coal byproducts build roads and fertilize crops. But here's
the uncomfortable truth: even with government support, coal can't
compete with wind on price. Utility companies know this. They're
retiring coal plants and building wind farms. Not because
bureaucrats order them to. Because shareholders demand profits.
Iowa proves the point. This state didn't abandon coal for
environmental virtue. They embraced wind for economic advantage.
Coal will always have a role in steelmaking and chemical
production. But for electricity generation? The future is blowing
in the wind. Literally. You've heard six stories about America's
energy future. They seem disconnected. Politics and science.
Markets and ideology. Iowa and Washington. But they're really one
story wearing six different masks. The story is this: energy costs
drive everything else. The cheapest energy source wins. Not
eventually. Not after government picks winners and losers. Now.
Wind power generates more electricity in Iowa than any other
source. Not because politicians mandated it. Because Iowa farmers,
utilities, and businesses chose it. They chose it because wind
power in Iowa costs less than coal. Less than natural gas. Less
than anything else that plugs into the grid. Secretary Wright can
defund renewable research. President Trump can eliminate tax
credits. Congress can support coal. But they can't repeal the law
of supply and demand. Iowa will keep building wind farms. Iowa will
continue to build solar farms. The wind blows free. The sun shines
free. Coal must be dug. Oil must be drilled. Gas must be fracked.
Which would you choose if you were paying the bills? The future is
renewable because the future is profitable.