Solar-powered beer? Yes, please.

That was one result when the U.S. Department of Agriculture delivered $2.1 million in grants to Lancaster County in January as part of the federal Rural Energy for America Program. That money went to six farms, four businesses, two schools and a campground. Twisted Bine Beer Co. in Mount Joy is now solar-powered thanks to that money.

As LNP | LancasterOnline explained at the time, the “renewable energy grants are designed to benefit agricultural producers and small businesses, and many are funded through the Inflation Reduction Act.”

In April, the Rural Energy for America Program delivered an additional $1 million to nine county farms and businesses, including a dairy farm, a plumbing and electrical services company, a firefighting and emergency equipment supplier, and a cabinetry and kitchen remodeling business.

All of this occurred in a state that as recently as 2023 ranked near the bottom of the states for renewable energy generation.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, his running mate U.S. Sen. JD Vance and the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 — the blueprint for a second Trump presidency — would undo these gains. They’d vacuum up all these jobs, all this investment, to benefit the oil industry. They don’t think the benefits that Lancaster County is already seeing should continue. They’d take this money right out of your pockets. They don’t think you should have it. They think Big Oil should have it.

Project 2025 claims that there’s a “war” on oil and natural gas by “extreme” green policymakers and progressive special-interest groups. It also claims that fossil fuels are the only reliable energy source. It calls for the elimination of the Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, which was established in 2021 to accelerate the adoption of clean energy technologies. It supports the repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which, Project 2025 explains, is providing “hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies to renewable energy developers.”

Trump may claim to know nothing about Project 2025, but Trump is closely connected to its key authors. And, according to The Washington Post, Trump flew to a 2022 conference with Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts, and said, of the foundation, “They’re going to lay the groundwork and detail plans for exactly what our movement will do.”

This isn’t just Donald Trump’s plan — it’s a promise he’ll deliver, starting on Day 1, for his benefit and that of his polluter pals. He has told us he plans to be a “dictator” on Day 1 and “drill, drill, drill.”

The savings being seen in Lancaster County thanks to clean energy are substantial. As LNP | LancasterOnline reported in July, Messick’s Farm Equipment installed more than 2,200 solar panels at its Rapho Township corporate headquarters. The company anticipated that it would eliminate up to 90% of its annual electric costs. Those savings go right back into the business, leading to lower costs for farmers on the equipment they buy or rent from Messick’s. Project 2025 could yank them back.

Making progress on environmental issues used to be difficult because people bought into the argument that you could do the right thing for the economy or the environment. Yet the clean energy transition is working: As the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission reported in conjunction with the state Department of Environmental Protection, “nearly 95,000 Pennsylvanians are employed in the five broad areas defined as clean energy jobs: clean energy generation, clean grid and energy storage, energy efficiency, alternative transportation, and clean fuels.” And more jobs are coming.

Trump, Vance and Project 2025 are so beholden to oil interests they’re willing to harm our economy and our environment to the detriment of Pennsylvanians. A new study by the nonpartisan think tank Energy Innovation found that enacting the Project 2025 agenda would cost the commonwealth more than 37,700 jobs; decrease Pennsylvania’s gross domestic product by $7.57 billion; and raise energy prices for the average Pennsylvania family by nearly $170 a year by 2030. By 2035, those numbers would be much worse.

Project 2025 wouldn’t stop there. It would rob us of the freedom enshrined in Article 1, Section 27, of the Pennsylvania Constitution, which states that “the people have a right to clean air, pure water.” It would gut the Environmental Protection Agency and eliminate regulations put in place to ensure clean air and water. The Lancaster metro area regularly gets a failing grade for its poor air quality from the American Lung Association, so this is personal for the residents of the region.

The need to act on climate change is on the minds of many. A survey by the real estate website Zillow found “more than 80% of home shoppers consider climate risks when looking for a new home.” Zillow is in the process of adding climate risk data to property listings.

The risks we all face due to climate change are increasing and well-documented, from extreme heat and drought to superstorms and flooding. Yet, Project 2025 would break up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which houses the National Weather Service, and “fully commercialize” the weather service’s forecasting operations. Not only could we lose some of the best forecasting available when an extreme weather event is imminent, we could lose the ability to warn everyone when the need to seek shelter is imminent.

It’s plain to see that Project 2025 is designed to benefit Trump’s Big Oil patrons, not the good people of Lancaster County.

David Kieve has been president of EDF Action, the advocacy partner of the Environmental Defense Fund, since February 2022. He previously served as director of public engagement for the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality.