At a time when the importance of energy security could not be more clear, American energy dominance is under assault on multiple fronts. A shocking new report reveals that coordinated interests, foreign and domestic, are threatening U.S. energy security at every turn.
The Chinese Communist Party is strategically funneling its cash into our country to undermine U.S. energy independence and destabilize our grid. Meanwhile, extortionate climate lawsuits threaten to strangle critical energy production hubs. In Louisiana, trial lawyers have teamed up with the state and dozens of parishes to file meritless “coastal erosion” suits against the state’s energy producers over activities dating back to World War II. One such case, Chevron USA v. Plaquemines Parish, is now before the Supreme Court, awaiting a ruling.
A report from the Louisiana-based Pelican Institute, “Barriers to Louisiana Energy Dominance,” highlights how this three-front assault is playing out in the state. Litigators, backed by shadowy foreign interests, are holding energy projects hostage with bogus environmental claims. These are calculated strikes against the liquefied natural gas boon that could otherwise supply Europe with American natural gas, kneecap Russian President Vladimir Putin’s pipelines, and create 10,000 high-wage American jobs, yet these projects are now stalled in court. Frivolous suits such as this stall LNG terminals, pipelines, and refineries.
OPINION: US ENERGY DOMINANCE KEEPS BEATING RUSSIA, IRAN, AND VENEZUELA. IT CAN BEAT CHINA, TOO
Why is Communist China funding attacks on the very grid that powers our factories, homes, and military might? It’s no accident. It is strategic.
The CCP pumped $546 billion into green subsidies in 2022 alone, while dominating key supply chains, including 80% of lithium refining, 90% of battery-grade graphite, and 95% of solar polysilicon. At the same time, affiliated organizations such as Energy Foundation China are funding advocacy efforts that target American energy production.
A climate organization with ties to CCP leadership funneled over $1 million to Harvard University and the University of California, Berkeley, helping shape academic and policy pipelines that favor intermittent energy sources and increased reliance on foreign-controlled supply chains. Harvard’s climate fellows, greased by this cash, lobby D.C. for mandates that lock us into Beijing’s supply chains. Firms such as CATL, tied to Beijing’s United Front, burrow into our battery storage market, turning “net zero” mandates into a chokehold on our security.
The severity of the threat is, thankfully, at least evident to leaders in Texas. State Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) has already launched investigations into Chinese battery components, potentially blocking CCP-linked firms from accessing the grid. Meanwhile, state leaders have been scrutinizing solar developers over Inflation Reduction Act tax credits tied to CCP equity. There’s no reason why we should allow our adversaries to chain us into energy dependency.
But, elsewhere, blue states are amplifying the failed policy choices. California, ironically called the Golden State, now enforces blackouts by royal decree. The state bans gas appliances and imports nearly one-third of its electricity from fossil-fueled neighbors, including power from coal-rich states such as Wyoming during peak demand. New York’s grid is also teetering. Remember the 2022 Bronx brownouts, when Cuomo-era renewables failed, leaving thousands sweltering without AC and with higher utility bills.
Failed leaders there prioritize climate ideology over grid reliability. Yet America’s fracking revolution increased production, strengthened grid reliability, reduced energy costs, and weakened Russia’s leverage over global markets.” China’s subsidies to its own green energy giants eclipse ours; former President Joe Biden’s IRA is pocket change next to Beijing’s blitz.
This foreign cash exploits every crack. Policies forcing a rapid shift to unreliable energy sources are handing the CCP control over critical mineral supply chains — and we’re so far behind in mining them that closing the gap could take years.
Enough. Time for an America-first counterpunch. Slash green pork bankrolling CCP fronts. Ban China’s lock on critical minerals; supercharge domestic mining and refining by removing regulatory barriers. Defund university grants breeding anti-energy zealots and redirect them to real innovation, like small modular reactors. States should follow Texas’s Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act and legislate against security risks posed by foreign-made renewables. Override blue-state restrictions with federal overrides on baseload bans. Rally to President Donald Trump’s playbook: executive orders gutting mandates, fast-tracking exploration and production, and exporting LNG to allies, just like his 2019 boon that shipped over 70% more natural gas worldwide.
AMERICA’S GREEN MOVEMENT HAS A CHINA PROBLEM
Once again, Trump’s leadership is restoring American energy strength and expanding our ability to supply allies with natural gas. Now Congress should build on that foundation by eliminating IRA slush funds that benefit CCP-controlled supply chains, states must bulldoze lawsuit barriers from Plaquemines to Pennsylvania, and citizens must demand leaders who prioritize American energy over China’s subsidized green imports.
America has the resources to lead. The path forward is clear: prioritize reliable, affordable energy, strengthen domestic production, and ensure our energy policy serves American workers and consumers, not foreign adversaries.
Jason Isaac is CEO of the American Energy Institute.