Wind and Solar Power: Assessing Reliability During Weather Fluctuations

In a sharp rebuke to Trump administration claims, energy experts have criticized the Department of Energy’s recent assertion that renewable energy sources become “worthless” when weather conditions don’t favor their operation.

The controversy erupted after the Department of Energy posted on X (formerly Twitter) on September 5, stating: “Wind and solar energy infrastructure is essentially worthless when it is dark outside, and when the wind is not blowing.”

This statement came amid a series of actions by the Trump administration that have targeted renewable energy projects. President Trump has repeatedly criticized wind power in particular, describing wind turbines as “ugly, expensive and altogether useless” on at least five recent occasions. His administration’s actions have included the Transportation Department canceling $679 million in federal funding for offshore wind projects and the Interior Department halting work on a nearly completed major wind project off Rhode Island’s coast.

The Energy Department’s claim prompted swift response from energy experts and X users, who added a community note fact-checking the statement by pointing out that “batteries allow electricity to be stored and used at a different time than when it is generated.” Even Elon Musk, whose company Tesla manufactures batteries, responded to the post with “Um… hello?” and linked to an article about Tesla’s battery products.

Energy economists and researchers uniformly disputed the department’s characterization of renewable energy systems. Severin Borenstein, faculty director of the Energy Institute at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, compared the statement to claiming “a commercial aircraft is worthless when it isn’t flying,” noting that the question is whether the value created during operation justifies the investment.

While experts acknowledge that wind and solar equipment alone don’t store energy, they point to multiple storage solutions that make these renewable sources reliable components of the energy grid. Christopher Knittel, professor of energy economics at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, noted, “We now have increasingly widespread and affordable battery storage at the home and utility scale,” enabling renewable energy produced during optimal conditions to be stored for later use.

Besides batteries, other storage methods include pumped hydro storage, where renewable energy is used to pump water into elevated reservoirs, releasing it to generate hydroelectric power when needed. Borenstein confirmed that energy storage from renewables is “commonly done in California and Texas today, among other locations,” making significant contributions to electricity supplies.

Even without storage capabilities, wind and solar power offer substantial value to the energy mix beyond their carbon-free benefits. Kenneth Gillingham, an economist with Yale School of the Environment, explained that in regions like New England, where natural gas is heavily used for winter heating, wind and solar reduce electricity demand during many hours of the day, preventing utilities from switching to more expensive fuels like oil or diesel.

The real-world importance of renewable energy is demonstrated by its growing share of electricity generation across multiple states. In May, renewables (excluding hydropower) accounted for approximately one-third of electricity generation in Texas, over half in California, and about two-thirds in Iowa. Nationally, wind and solar contribute about 14% to the power grid.

“Solar power often coincides with peak daytime demand when electricity prices are highest, displacing expensive fossil generation and lowering overall costs,” Knittel pointed out, highlighting the economic advantages of these energy sources.

The Department of Energy did not respond to inquiries regarding their statement, which energy experts have conclusively labeled as false. Far from being “worthless” during suboptimal conditions, wind and solar have become integral components of America’s energy infrastructure, providing clean power directly when available and, through modern storage technologies, continuing to supply electricity even when immediate generation isn’t possible.