Renewable energy received no mention today on the new White House website, launched today during Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Trump pledged to include renewable energy, including solar and wind, in his energy plan while on the campaign trail last year.

After Trump met with oil and gas industry leaders in October, his campaign put out a press release summarizing his America First Energy Plan, which included the following statement:

The Trump energy policy will make us energy independent, create millions of new jobs, and protect clean air and clean water. We have one of the world’s most diverse resource bases – from abundant coal, oil, and natural gas to geothermal, solar, and wind. We are also the world’s leader in energy technologies like nuclear power.

During a September visit to Pennsylvania, Trump delivered a speech before members of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, and the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association. Here is what he had to say about his plans for renewable energy then:

Our energy policy will make full use of our domestic energy sources, including traditional and renewable energy sources.

But when a new webpage titled “An America First Energy Plan” appeared on Inauguration Day, shortly after the Trump team began its takeover of WhiteHouse.gov, it contained no mention of renewable energy, and no mention of solar and wind power. It did reiterate Trump’s pledge to eliminate U.S. climate change policies, as noted today by DesmogBlog.

Any informed plan for energy independence must recognize that renewable energy is our nation’s top new source of electricity – and a homegrown source to boot. Solar and wind power are on track to again outpace natural gas and coal for growth in 2016, based on the latest numbers from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission:

The decision to remove all reference to wind and solar power from Trump’s energy plans stood in stark contrast to the populist themes he hit on in his inaugural address today.

Donald Trump certainly picked an odd day to roll out an energy plan where fossil fuels so clearly trump renewable energy.

“January 20th 2017, will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again,” Trump said in his inaugural address. “The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer.”

The Trump team appeared to forget that the American people overwhelmingly favor expanding use of solar and wind power, including conservative Republicans. If President Trump truly wants to bring our nation together, that would be a good starting point for his energy policy.

Posted by Dave Anderson

Dave Anderson is the policy and communications manager for the Energy and Policy Institute. Dave has been working at the nexus of clean energy and public policy since 2008. Prior to joining the Energy and Policy Institute, he was an outreach coordinator for the climate and energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. He is also an alumnus of the Sierra Club and the Alliance for Climate Protection (now the Climate Reality Project). Dave’s research has helped to spur public scrutiny of political attacks on clean energy and climate science by powerful special interests, such as ExxonMobil and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). His work has been cited by major media outlets, such as CBS News and the Wall Street Journal, and he has served as a speaker on panels at national solar industry conferences. Dave holds a MA in Political Science from the University of New Hampshire, where he also received a BA in Humanities.

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