Future of wind and solar farms in Trump's America
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What are the current challenges facing affordable energy in America?
America needs affordable energy and that demand sits at the crossroads of creating economic stability while balancing environmental responsibility. Green energy solutions like wind and solar farms hold promise, but there's been strong pushback over safety and land use. As the country weighs questions about infrastructure and affordability, what kind of energy future should we invest in? Hello and welcome to USA Today's The Excerpt. I'm Dana Taylor. Today is Monday, February 23rd, 2026. Here to explore those questions and to share the perspective of farmers who've grappled with the issue of land use is USA Today reporter Elizabeth Weiss. It's wonderful to have you back on The Excerpt, Beth. Happy as always to be here.
When we spoke about this topic two years ago, you told me that as a country, we've made a commitment to getting to 100% carbon neutral electricity by 2035. President Donald Trump has now reversed that. Is this goal now just dead in the water? Did we make any meaningful progress before Trump took office?
Well, as a goal, the U.S. has walked back from that and we no longer have that as a goal. That said, wind and solar are just so cheap to build and quick to build that we're already up to 17 percent of U.S. electricity coming from wind and solar power at this point. So that while it's slowing, that number continues to increase. And We had hoped under the Biden administration, the plan had been that we would get to 100 percent solar. That's not going to happen. But it does continue to increase because it just makes sense in a lot of places.
Let's head to some of the places that have seen their economies reinvigorated by renewable energy money. How have wind and solar farms helped shape Randolph County, Indiana?
So we went there, and it's a wonderful farming county. When they got wind and solar power, and specifically wind, they were able to spend a lot of money building up their infrastructure. They redid the county fairground, which if you've spent any time in rural America, 4-H is huge. They were able to work on the 4-H sites. It ended up being a $2.8 million project. investment just in the county fairground, which is always important for an ag community. Money went into school districts, infrastructure, ambulances. I mean, all the things that make a community vibrant and viable so that people stay there. And that's one of the concerns. As population is lowered, I mean, we're seeing a contraction in the number of farms in the United States as they're consolidating.
Counties really need the infrastructure to keep people in place because if there aren't good schools, if there aren't programs, they'll go someplace where they can get access to that.
Tell me about Chris Retter, fifth generation farmer in Randolph County.
How has Trump's administration impacted renewable energy goals?
How have he and his family balanced farming and working with renewable companies?
So he's an interesting character because his family's been there for forever. They grow corn, wheat, soy. But in 2011, they got an offer from a company that wanted to put in a wind farm. And they talked about it a lot amongst the whole family, the dad, all the siblings. And in the end, they decided to do it because they were concerned that they weren't going to bring in enough money to keep the farm in perpetuity, which is what they want. And the thing about wind especially is that it takes up about 5% of acreage, so you can farm around it. I mean, I've been in a lot of fields where there's a wind turbine right there, and then there's corn or soy or wheat or sorghum all around it. And so they made that decision, and according to him, it's allowed them to know that they will be able to keep that farm and pass it down
through the generations and to make the money that they're getting from it, the leases, and to make some upgrades that help them be more profitable.
Beth, not everyone is on board with having wind and solar farms in their communities. What's the verdict on green energy for people living in Randolph?
I've spent a lot of time in these communities and it is hard because if you are from a beautiful rural agricultural place, it can be a little disconcerting to suddenly see a turbine or suddenly drive past a solar farm.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What are the current challenges facing affordable energy in America?
0:05–3:09
2
How has Trump's administration impacted renewable energy goals?
3:09–10:03
3
What economic benefits have wind and solar farms brought to rural communities?
10:03–15:54
4
How do farmers balance traditional agriculture with renewable energy projects?
15:54–17:26