Big Oil celebrates the return of Trump. Clean energy braces for trouble

Big Oil got its wish: Donald Trump is heading back to the White House, promising to turbocharge American fossil fuels by slashing red tape.

Big Oil got its wish: Donald Trump is heading back to the White House, promising to turbocharge American fossil fuels by slashing red tape. As oil lobbyists eagerly game out how to dismantle regulation, the clean energy industry is bracing for trouble ahead. Trump has promised to roll back support for clean energy and stop the wind power boom dead in its tracks. The shifting fortunes of Big Oil and clean energy underscore how the change in power in Washington could have a lasting and significant impact on the broader energy landscape. In the oil industry, there is excitement about Trump’s drill-baby-drill ethos. There’s also a sense that a bullet has been dodged, as Big Oil feared Democrats’ willingness to impose tough restrictions. “A knife heading towards the throat of the industry has been kicked away,” said Bob McNally, president of consulting firm Rapidan Energy Group and a former White House adviser to President George W. Bush. President Joe Biden’s pause on exports of liquefied natural gas rattled fossil fuel executives and raised concerns about a permanent ban and further restraints, according to McNally.