As the United States closed out 2025, the nation found itself navigating a dramatically altered environmental and energy landscape. The first year of President Donald Trump’s second term was marked by sweeping changes to federal regulations, a rapid rollback of environmental protections, and a renewed push for fossil fuel development—moves that have left both industry insiders and the public grappling with the consequences.
According to CleanTechnica and the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Trump administration has taken or proposed nearly 400 actions since January 2025 that undermine environmental safeguards. These actions range from granting exemptions to coal-fired power plants and chemical manufacturers—allowing them to release more toxic chemicals into the air—to gutting the Clean Water Act, putting millions of miles of streams and half the nation’s wetlands at risk. The administration’s efforts have exposed vast tracts of ocean waters, public lands, and Arctic wilderness to oil and gas drilling, fast-tracking fossil fuel projects while sidestepping responsible environmental review.
But the changes didn’t stop at the environment. The administration also abandoned clean car standards that were on track to save drivers billions of dollars annually and spur domestic manufacturing. Wind and solar projects capable of powering millions of homes were blocked or delayed, just as demand for electricity surged across the country—driven in part by the proliferation of energy-hungry data centers.
“Trump’s effort to manipulate government regulation to harm clean energy just isn’t enough to offset the natural advantages that clean energy has,” Democratic U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse told The Associated Press. He added, “The direction is still all good.”
Despite these setbacks, there were glimmers of hope for the clean energy sector. Solar and battery storage accounted for 85 percent of new power added to the grid in the first nine months of the Trump administration, according to research by Wood Mackenzie. Solar builder Jorge Vargas acknowledged, “It has been a very tough year for clean energy,” but emphasized the industry’s resilience. “Having said that, we are a resilient industry.”
Plug Power president Jose Luis Crespo echoed this sentiment, noting that both policy recalibration and technological progress in 2025 would shape the trajectory of clean energy for years to come.
Yet the pace and scope of regulatory change have created uncertainty for investors and developers alike. “Companies can't make billion-dollar investments with so much policy uncertainty,” warned Jason Grumet, CEO of the American Clean Power Association, in comments to The Associated Press. The Republican-led tax bill passed in July dramatically rolled back tax breaks for clean energy, reversing or curtailing programs established through the Democrats’ 2022 climate and health care bill. The result? A weakened supply chain, higher costs from tariffs, and a rush to start construction before incentives expire.
Wayne Winegarden of the Pacific Research Institute argued that the time had come for alternative energy to demonstrate its viability without subsidies, though he acknowledged that fossil fuels also receive government support. The policy shifts have forced developers to reassess their strategies for acquiring parts and materials, said Lennart Hinrichs, who leads TWAICE’s expansion in the Americas.
Meanwhile, the administration’s declaration of a "national energy emergency" early in 2025 was used to speed up approvals for fossil fuel projects, including a uranium project in southeast Utah, as reported by Rocky Mountain Community Radio. Chris Winter, executive director of the Getches Wilkinson Center at CU Boulder, highlighted the administration’s drastic reduction in transparency around energy development and public lands management. “Things like taking away public notice and comment opportunities, limiting the size of the documents, the amount of analysis, even not telling the public that there's an environmental assessment happening, and it just all happens behind closed doors with no public participation,” Winter explained.
The environmental law community has been particularly alarmed by attacks on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)—the nation’s bedrock environmental statute. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also sought to rescind the Obama-era Endangerment Finding under the Clean Air Act, which had classified greenhouse gases as a danger to public health and welfare. “These developments constrain the federal government's ability to make progress on climate change,” Winter said.
Public lands have also come under significant threat. According to a Center for American Progress report, 2025 was one of the worst years on record for public lands protections, with policies initiated by the Trump administration stripping protections from 88 million acres. Drew McConville, the report’s author, warned, “With deep funding cuts, firings, and the elimination of conservation protections along with this reckless push to mine and drill, that's what we're going to see in the future, is our historic sites, archeological resources, (and) sensitive wildlife habitat at risk.”
Proposed funding cuts exceeding 35 percent for agencies like the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management have raised further concerns about the future of America’s public lands. The administration also sought to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule and the BLM’s Public Lands Rule, both of which provided key protections for national forests and conservation lands.
Changes to the Antiquities Act, which allows presidents to designate national monuments, have put sites like Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante in Utah at risk. In the summer of 2025, Senator Mike Lee of Utah proposed selling millions of acres of Forest Service and BLM lands for housing—a move that met swift bipartisan backlash. Lee also received initial approval for a bill transferring 24 acres of Forest Service land to the town of Brian Head, Utah, without environmental review or public comment. Steve Bloch of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance called the proposal “alarming,” especially in light of Lee’s previous sell-off efforts.
Public opinion has not been silent in the face of these sweeping changes. As of December 24, 2025, nearly 57 percent of Americans said the government is doing too little to protect the environment, and 62 percent believe environmental quality is worsening. The benefits of responsible environmental safeguards, many argue, far exceed the cost of compliance—by more than 30 to 1 in the case of the Clean Air Act.
Despite the administration’s attempts to roll back clean energy progress, the industry remains buoyed by strong economics and high demand. The Solar Energy Industries Association insists that, regardless of federal policies, solar and storage “will grow as the backbone of the nation's energy future.” Nuclear and geothermal energy also saw support in 2025, with bipartisan backing for keeping reactors online and advancing new technologies. The Department of Energy even loaned $1 billion to help restart the Three Mile Island nuclear plant.
Offshore wind, on the other hand, suffered major setbacks as the administration halted construction on major projects, revoked permits, and paused federal funding. Yet, advocates like Hillary Bright of Turn Forward believe offshore wind will remain essential as electricity demand continues to soar, driven by the expansion of data centers and a growing population.
The story of 2025 is one of whiplash—a nation pulled between the old and the new, the polluting and the clean, the urgent needs of today and the promise of tomorrow. As the U.S. heads into 2026, the direction of its energy and environmental policies remains fiercely contested, but the resilience of clean energy and the determination of its advocates suggest the final chapter is far from written.
