Like in other sectors, Mr. Trump and Secretary Clinton have diametrically opposed policy priorities when it comes to energy and the environment. For the most part mirroring their parties, Mr. Trump is a strong supporter of the fossil fuel industry and questions climate change, while Secretary Clinton emphasizes further expanding the share of renewable energy at the expense of fossil fuels and believes that climate change is an existential threat.
Energy Production – Clinton
Building on the legacy of the Obama Administration, Secretary Clinton has proposed to make the U.S. the "clean energy superpower of the twenty-first century." To that end, Clinton says she will pick up where President Obama left off by continuing tax credits to support development of renewable fuels, supporting energy efficiency efforts and pushing for implementation of the stalled Clean Power Plan. Under her plan, Secretary Clinton foresees moving toward a new energy mix in which non-carbon-emitting sources comprise 33 percent of the U.S. production by 2027, with a significant emphasis on increasing solar energy capacity in the next four years. Secretary Clinton has also called for expanding clean energy development on federal lands through expansion of wind and solar energy production. However, Clinton has ruled out opening federal lands to traditional energy extraction, such as oil drilling and coal mining. Secretary Clinton has also explicitly acknowledged this would mean a transformation away from coal and toward natural gas as a "bridge fuel," but has come out against new hydraulic fracturing projects, instead supporting continued fracking only for existing wells.
Energy Production – Trump
Diametrically opposed to Secretary Clinton, Mr. Trump is a fervent supporter of the fossil fuel sector, questions the existence of anthropomorphic climate change and has expressed skepticism about the economic viability of renewable energy. Broadly speaking, Mr. Trump is in favor of further expanding oil, gas and coal production in the United States and has said he would revoke restrictions on drilling for oil and gas on federal lands, and in his first 100 days in office would "save the coal industry and other industries threatened by Hillary Clinton's extremist agenda." Mr. Trump has said he will rescind the Climate Action Plan and the Waters of the U.S. Rule, as well as revoke policies that impose restrictions on new drilling technologies such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing.
However, at various times Donald Trump has expressed support for Democratic-backed initiatives, including the Renewable Fuel Standard and the Production Tax Credit. When discussing local efforts to ban fracking, he responded to a question by saying "Well, I'm in favor of fracking, but I think that voters should have a big say in it. If a municipality or state wants to ban fracking, I can understand it."
Nuclear Power – Clinton
As part of her vision for the "deep decarbonization" of U.S. energy production by 2050, Secretary Clinton has expressed support for the nuclear energy industry, stating "rapidly shutting down our nation's nuclear power fleet puts ideology ahead of science and would make it harder and costlier to build a clean energy future." In particular, Secretary Clinton is in favor of additional investments in advanced reactors and small modular reactors, but is on the record as opposing the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.
Nuclear Power – Trump
Donald Trump's views on nuclear power are somewhat amorphous, and he has expressed both support for nuclear energy and spoken out against picking winners and losers in the energy industry. In the wake of the Fukushima disaster in 2011, Mr. Trump was very supportive of nuclear energy. "I'm in favor of nuclear energy, very strongly in favor of nuclear energy," he said. More recently, Mr. Trump has stressed the importance of eliminating bureaucratic hurdles "so that we can pursue all forms of energy," possibly lowering the costs of domestic production of coal and natural gas-fired energy and making it more difficult for the nuclear energy industry to compete in the ensuing low-cost environment. His lack of official policies makes it difficult at this time to pinpoint Mr. Trump's position on the nuclear industry.
Takeaway: Secretary Clinton and Donald Trump offer vastly different approaches to the future of the U.S. energy mix. Secretary Clinton proposes continuity with President Obama's policies and his push to transition the U.S. away from fossil fuels toward non-carbon intensive energy forms. Secretary Clinton does differ from President Obama in that she places less emphasis on the benefits of the U.S. energy boom and instead focuses more on expanding renewable energy. Mr. Trump is a strong supporter of the fossil fuel industry and has said he will remove Obama Administration regulations that impede the further expansion of oil, gas and coal production in the United States. Mr. Trump's position on nuclear energy is unclear, and he has not yet put together a comprehensive policy proposal for the future of the industry.
