WATCH: Padilla Blasts Trump Administration for Rising Energy Costs, Cuts to Renewable Projects

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, spoke on the Senate floor to outline the Trump Administration's devastating cuts to clean energy projects across the country that are leading to significant energy cost increases for American families. He contrasted Trump's shortsighted actions against renewable energy with California's leadership in building a reliable grid and clean energy economy.

Padilla emphasized that Trump has gone back on his promises to cut energy costs, as energy prices are now rising twice as fast as inflation. In the face of rising prices, California state lawmakers passed a legislative package this weekend to strengthen the state's energy portfolio and lower the cost of living for working families. The package will help increase the supply of energy Californians rely on while facilitating coordination with counterparts in states like Oregon and Washington to create a regional electric grid across the Western United States.

While Republicans claim that renewable energy isn't affordable or dependable, Padilla stressed that solar and wind power are cheaper than both coal and natural gas, with solar power costing only half as much as coal. He highlighted that California's historic economic growth across industries demonstrates the promise of a sustainable, clean energy future. In 2023, clean energy made up two thirds of California's retail electricity. At the same time, the state's grid has become more reliable as battery capacity in California has expanded by nearly 2,000% since 2019.

• "This Administration is shamelessly working to block one of our best defenses against rising energy bills: renewable energy. And I say so because renewable energy is absolutely affordable, renewable energy is abundant, and whether you want to admit it or not, renewable energy sources are our future."

• "[California is] harnessing the power of solar and wind and hydroelectric power and nuclear, geothermal, even hydrogen power to our state. And it's exactly because of those investments that even in a year like 2024, just last year, when we experienced record heat waves that we also saw record renewable energy generation, and we kept the lights on."

• "We know that with a growing population and a growing economy, including, but not limited to, the future of an AI boom, demand will continue to grow. But we're committed to the kind of inclusive portfolio of energy options that has made our grid more reliable."

Despite California's leadership, the Trump Administration has decimated clean energy efforts, cutting historic tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act, canceling offshore wind projects, and withholding funding from solar projects that lower energy bills and create good-paying jobs. According to Climate Power, since Trump was elected, over 120 clean energy projects across the country have been canceled or delayed or are laying off staff, amounting to nearly 14,000 megawatts taken off the grid - enough to power over 8.4 million homes. Padilla further emphasized that by investing in older fossil fuel plants, the Administration will continue to raise energy costs and cede global leadership in renewable energy production and innovation to adversaries like China.

Padilla underscored that Trump's dependence on fossil fuels will exacerbate the climate crisis and lead to more intense natural disasters, including drought, atmospheric rivers, and catastrophic wildfires like Los Angeles experienced in January. As President Trump has baselessly attacked California's wildfire policy and withheld disaster aid for California, Senator Padilla highlighted his previous work to pass the FIRE Act to help FEMA better prepare for and respond to wildfires, his efforts to finalize the transfer of seven C-130s from the Coast Guard to California to retrofit for fighting wildfires, and his ongoing bipartisan push to pass the Fix Our Forests Act to combat devastating wildfires, restore forest ecosystems, and make federal forest management more efficient and responsive.

• "[Trump's reliance on fossil fuels] is not just bad for consumers, it's not just bad for reliability - it's literally putting lives at risk."

• "It's no surprise that Donald Trump loves to attack California's leaders for wildfire policy and our climate leadership, and we also know he loves to play politics with disaster funding. That record is clear. Yet he continues to dig us deeper and deeper into an energy policy that actually increases the risk of the next great disaster. And Californians will be left to clean up the mess."

• "Reliance on fossil fuels comes at a cost, and Americans, not just Californians, but Americans are paying for it in the form of higher energy bills and in lives destroyed after these major disasters. So no matter how many times Trump says it, we can never and will never 'Drill, Baby, Drill' our way to cheaper energy costs. Our solution has to be a more inclusive approach to energy portfolios."

Padilla concluded by outlining his vision for a more efficient, lower-cost, and reliable clean energy future. He pushed for streamlining the approval and completion of energy projects while building out our transmission system and fostering regional cooperation to strengthen the grid.

• "That's how we meet our growing demand - more options, not less, more cooperation, not less, and more sources of energy, not less."

• "Trump might continue to lie to the American people about renewable energy, but Americans know that this energy crisis doesn't have to continue forever, and California is proud to show the way forward."

Watch Senator Padilla's full remarks here.

###