Trump Administration Warns Power Blackouts May Double By 2030 Without Further Capacity Additions

The Trump administration warned on Monday that U.S. power blackouts could double by 2030 if reliable replacement capacity is not added.

“If current retirement schedules and incremental additions remain unchanged, most regions will face unacceptable reliability risks within five years,” the Department of Energy said in a report on grid reliability and security.

The report, a result of an executive order from Donald Trump that asked the DOE to examine the nation’s grids, blamed the renewable energy-friendly policies of the Biden administration for the expected shortfall.

“If we are going to keep the lights on, win the AI race, and keep electricity prices from skyrocketing, the United States must unleash American energy,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said.

The report added that 104 gigawatts (GW) of plant retirements are expected by 2030, which will likely be replaced by 209 GW of new generation. However, the DOE said that only 22 GW will come from firm baseload generation sources. The energy department also noted that renewable sources, such as solar and wind, can be unreliable at times, depending on weather conditions.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits about First Solar was in the ‘neutral’ (53/100) territory at the time of writing.

The report was soon followed by an executive order by Donald Trump to remove ‘green energy’ subsidies as mentioned in the “Big Beautiful Bill.” Since being sworn in for a second term as President, Trump declared an energy emergency to boost fossil fuel production in the U.S. He has also been vocal against the reliability of solar and wind energy. However, Large project developers are deploying energy storage solutions to alleviate these concerns.

According to the Energy Information Administration, utility-scale solar energy accounted for 61% of U.S. capacity additions last year. However, the Trump administration views natural gas, nuclear, and coal plants as the answer to the country’s growing power demand. Trump has already extended the lifespan of two coal power plants.

First Solar stock has fallen 5% this year.

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