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Clean energy continues to surge globally, while in the U.S. the Trump administration continues to cancel already approved offshore wind projects and generally make it much more difficult to advance renewable energy projects. This president, as well as the fossil fuel industry, has repeatedly made false and outdated claims about the cost and reliability of clean energy, the loss of jobs in fossil fuels and that progress towards renewables is too slow.
The often-repeated claims are that these facilities are too expensive to build, the sources are too unreliable and many jobs will be lost. In the earliest years of clean energy development, some of these concerns were justified, but the industries have come a long way in the past several decades, and today the story is very different. Meanwhile the global climate impacts of continuing fossil fuel consumption are becoming more evident and destructive. As one example, at least 3,700 people have died in Europe already this summer due to the extreme heat wave.
The following summary of these myths is based on a report by Earth.org, which is a nonprofit environmental news and data journalism organization based in Hong Kong, with a mission to make complex climate science and environmental issues accessible to the public to inspire direct action and promote sustainable societal change.
1. “Renewable energy is too costly.” This claim has perhaps been the most persistent and the assertion is that renewable energy cannot be commercially competitive without significant subsidies. However, a 2024 International Renewable Energy Agency report found that 91% of new renewable power projects commissioned globally were less expensive than the cheapest fossil fuel option available. The change in economics has been striking. Since 2010, the cost of solar photovoltaic has fallen from being five times more expensive than fossil fuels to being 41% cheaper. Onshore wind has moved from being 23% more costly than coal and gas, to 53% cheaper. The transition to renewables in 2024 alone, saved $467 billion in global fuel expenditures. In addition, once constructed, solar and wind power are essentially free, insulating economies from geopolitical forces, such as has happened with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to the price of gasoline.
Trump’s secretary of the interior, Doug Burgum, has claimed without major federal subsidies that offshore wind would not be competitive with fossil fuels. However, the U.S. government subsidizes the fossil fuel industry (including oil, gas and coal) by an estimated $20 to $35 billion annually in direct federal and state financial support. If unpriced environmental, climate and public health damages (known as implicit subsidies) are included, the total societal cost rises to $760 billion annually. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act added about $4 billion annually in new fossil fuel incentives. As the former governor of North Dakota, Burgum became a political champion and financial beneficiary of the oil and gas industry. How about telling us like it is, Burgum?
2. “Renewable energy is not reliable.” The most persistent critique of wind and solar has been their irregular availability. The development of advanced battery storage, however, has changed this issue in a basic way. The cost of fully installed battery storage dropped by 93% between 2010 and 2024, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency. These grid-scale batteries work as a high-speed buffer and react to supply shifts in milliseconds, absorbing midday solar surges, for example, and discharging that power during the peak evening hours when the sun has set.
This technological development has led to a surge of industrial confidence. The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects that 24 gigawatts (GW) of new utility-scale storage will come online in the U.S. this year, surpassing the record of 15 GW set last year. This year’s increase is enough to provide for the power needs of 18 million to 24 million average U.S. homes. More positive news: renewables and storage now account for 93% of all new utility-scale capacity in the U.S. Domestic renewable energy generation provides stability and increases energy security. With Middle East tensions and supply uncertainties, governments around the world are moving more quickly towards solar and wind since they can’t be affected by export embargoes or price escalation.
3. “Clean energy kills jobs.” There are real impacts to the fossil fuel industry as clean energy ramps up. The coal industry, however, has been in decline for years due to costs, environmental impacts, and hazards and risks to workers. Between 2019 and 2023, employment in clean energy rose from 30 million to 35 million jobs and exceeded fossil fuel employment for the first time. With current policies, renewable energy is projected to add 10 million more jobs in 2024, while the fossil fuel industry is expected to lose about 3 million jobs. In the U.S. in 2024, employment in clean energy increased three times faster than the overall workforce. The International Energy Agency also estimates about half of the fossil fuel employees who will be facing redundancy in the next 10 years have skills that are directly transferable to the clean energy workforce.
4. “The transition is happening too slowly.” The progress in recent years of new solar and wind energy facility construction is progressing much faster than was originally forecasted. In May 2025, China alone added 93 gigawatts of solar capacity in one month, the equivalent of about 100 solar panels a second! Their combined wind and solar capacity surpassed total thermal (fossil fuel) power capacity in early 2025 for the first time. China also hit its 2030 wind and solar power target in 2024, six years ahead of schedule. Meanwhile the U.S. is now lagging behind because of administration efforts pushing fossil fuels and halting any encouragement or approval of renewables.
Asia is where the transformation to clean energy is taking place the fastest. In 2025, 74% of the new renewable capacity added globally was in Asia, with China accounting for by far the largest share. In 2024, India invested about $100 billion in clean energy, placing it among the world’s largest renewable energy investors. India also crossed a major milestone in 2025 by exceeding 50% of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources. For some perspective, India and China combined now make up 35% of the worldwide population so their actions are important.
Globally, clean energy investment in 2025 was $2.2 trillion, over twice as much as investments in fossil fuels. The viability of clean renewable energy is no longer in question. What is most important now is how quickly the appropriate financing, policy framework, grid investment and approvals can be delivered.
Gary Griggs is a distinguished professor of Earth and planetary sciences at UC Santa Cruz. He can be reached at griggs@ucsc.edu. For past Ocean Backyard columns, visit seymourcenter.ucsc.edu/ouroceanbackyard.
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