Southern leaders call for renewable energy investments to lower costs for Americans

Leaders from the South are calling for action on renewable energy to make consumption more affordable for everyday Americans.

The group Elected Officials to Protect America hosted a roundtable in Washington, D.C. last week to address clean energy and affordability.

Georgia Sen. Tonya Anderson, D-Lithonia, called out the Trump administration for canceling a program that helped low-income families get solar panels.

“We need climate mitigation efforts and more deployed in clean energy, not federally backed incentives for fossil fuel corporations. The climate crisis has made summertime too hot in the South,” Anderson said.

Anderson said more efforts should be made to promote energy efficiency, measures for climate resilience and environmental protections. She also blamed the Trump administration’s war in Iran for higher gas prices while profits increase at oil and gas companies.

President Trump has called the war necessary to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Ron Pierce, a former Army major, served as director of the Office of Small Disadvantaged Business Utilization for the U.S. Department of Energy during the Biden administration. During the roundtable, Pierce highlighted President Biden’s climate initiatives as having a lasting impact.

“The Inflation Reduction Act, $370 billion in clean energy initiatives. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, an additional $75 billion, despite this administration focusing on fossil fuels,” Pierce said.

Other speakers proposed more investment in distributed renewable energy to reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil, which they claimed is a key factor in the wars in Ukraine and Iran.