To: Interested Parties
From: Evergreen Action Deputy Director for the Midwest Region Courtney Brady
Date: July 30, 2025
Re: Midwest Hit Hard by Trump Energy Policies: Clean Energy Cancellations, Fossil Fuel Favoritism, and the Risk of Falling Behind
The Trump administration claims to support an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy, but its actions tell a different story. By cutting support for clean energy tax credits, halting major transmission projects, and fast-tracking fossil fuel development, the administration is sidelining the very technologies that could lower costs, improve grid reliability, and meet rising demand.
These decisions aren’t just ideological; they’re reckless. They limit states’ ability to bring new energy sources online quickly and affordably at a time when extreme weather and data center growth are straining the grid. The Midwest is bearing the brunt of this federal hostility.
Home to some of the country’s highest energy development potential, Midwest states can still move forward on clean energy to meet growing demand and manage affordability. But if they don’t act quickly and decisively, the region risks:
- Blackouts during peak demand;
- Adding to the more than $9.75 billion in lost clean energy investments and over 5,000 jobs already gone in the Midwest;
- Higher utility bills when household budgets are already stretched thin; and
- Locking in a costly, polluting fossil fuel system while cheaper, cleaner renewable energy projects are neglected or delayed.
What’s Happening in the Midwest
Coal Plants Extended Under “Emergency” Orders
Federal bailouts are forcing aging coal plants to remain operational longer than planned, despite economic viability, public health, and climate impacts. These extensions increase costs and emissions at a time when cleaner alternatives are ready and available.
- In Illinois, coal plants like the Baldwin Energy Complex have received exemptions from federal pollution limits, allowing them to operate longer at a high cost and without modern emissions controls.
- In Michigan, Trump's Department of Energy manufactured a rationale to unnecessarily override state regulators and keep the J.H. Campbell coal plant running through summer 2025. Despite its high operating cost, a previously approved retirement, and opposition from Michigan regulators who found the plant unnecessary for reliability, Trump’s DOE is abusing executive powers to prop up the dying coal industry, forcing Midwesterners to subsidize their profits.
Fossil Fuels Fast-Tracked, Clean Energy Gridlocked
While new, costly, and time-intensive gas-fired power plants are being fast-tacked, nearly all clean energy and storage projects remain stuck waiting for approval.
- On July 23, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved a proposal from the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) to create a fast-track interconnection process so that gas-fired power plants can cut in line ahead of renewables that have been waiting for years. Meanwhile, as of July 2024, 115 gigawatts of clean energy and storage projects—representing 93 percent of MISO’s interconnection queue—are still waiting in the regular-order queue.
- States like Indiana and Wisconsin are advancing new gas capacity—even though gas plants can take years to permit and build, face volatile turbine and construction costs, and won’t come online in time to meet rising demand. Meanwhile, shovel-ready wind, solar, and storage projects remain stuck in regulatory limbo.
Grain Belt Express Transmission Line Sabotage
Despite claiming credit for the Grain Belt Express, a vital multistate transmission line backed by governors of both parties that would deliver wind power from Kansas to Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, the Trump administration’s DOE illegally canceled a $4.9 billion federal loan guarantee for the project That reckless decision threatens to wipe out an $11 billion investment and block millions of Midwestern homes from accessing low-cost clean power.
Clean Energy Jobs and Investments Wiped Out
Recent federal policy rollbacks have triggered a wave of cancellations in clean energy development, erasing billions in investments and jeopardizing thousands of jobs. This setback will stall the region’s economic momentum and put its move toward affordable clean energy on hold.
- The Trump administration’s elimination of the residential clean energy credit and repeal of the investment tax credit (ITC) and production tax credit (PTC) are already driving widespread project cancellations.
- In the first half of 2025, more than $22 billion in clean energy projects were canceled nationwide. At least $9.75 billion of those losses occurred in key Midwest states (Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, and Indiana), resulting in approximately 5,466 lost or reduced jobs.
Why the Midwest? Why Now?
The Midwest is home to some of the nation’s strongest wind and solar development potential because of its land, weather, and supportive state policies. However, the region also faces one of the largest clean energy interconnection backlogs in the country, thanks to its regional grid operators MISO and PJM creating significant delays in bringing new projects online.
States like Michigan, Minnesota, and Illinois have established clean energy standards aimed at cutting costs and creating jobs, but these benefits will be harder to achieve with ongoing federal hostility and if barriers to siting and transmission infrastructure are not resolved. Meanwhile, surging demand driven by expanding data centers and increasingly frequent extreme weather events is placing unprecedented strain on the region’s electricity grid, underscoring the need for urgent action.
What Midwest States Can Do Right Now:
- Streamline Siting & Permitting to Get New Sources Online Fast: Prioritize wind, solar, and storage development—especially shovel-ready projects that can still qualify for federal clean energy tax credits before new restrictions or repeals take effect. States should also support local governments with authority and guidance to expedite permitting.
- Prioritize Clean Energy in Generation Planning: Put pressure on utilities and grid operators to prioritize quickly-deployable clean energy in interconnection, procurement, and resource planning.
- Greenlight Transmission Projects: Advance in-state and regional transmission lines through public utility commissions to unlock clean energy and lower congestion costs.
The Point: What Comes Next Is Up to the States
Let’s be clear about what’s happening: The Trump administration is sabotaging energy affordability and grid resilience in the Midwest. But this federal sabotage doesn’t have to be the last word—how states respond in this moment will determine the fate of the electric grid. By making the right decisions on permitting, interconnection, and transmission, they can protect reliability, lower energy bills, and unlock billions in clean energy investment. The window is closing, and the next move belongs to the states.
For more information or to speak with an Evergreen Action policy expert, please contact Deputy Communications Director Seth Nelson at seth@evergreenaction.com.
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