President Trump came into the second term and one of his slogans was Drill Baby Drill. It was designed to appeal to those in the oil industry and to signal that federal lands will be used for oil and gas drilling. Thanks to fracking and the Permian Basin, the amount of oil drilled inside the borders of the US had made the US self-dependent in oil and gas. The President also decided that renewables or generating oil and gas from solar and wind will be downplayed as much as possible. Time will tell if that is a good decision, because the output of the Permian is expected to decrease in the coming years.

In an article from Reuters, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) released data showing that globally, renewable power made up almost 50% of the world’s electricity capacity last year. Renewables held a 49.3% market share versus last year of 46.3%. In terms of capacity, it was 5.149 gigawatts up 692 GW from 2024. The growth was led by a leap in solar capacity, which grew by 511 GW in 2025 to 2,392 GW.

For electrical generating companies, the price is the key element. When coal was expensive, the companies switched to natural gas. When natural gas gets expensive the companies add renewables or make small scale renewables such as putting solar on your home easier.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, if you own dividend paying stocks invariably you will look at private owned electrical utilities because they have a near monopoly and can raise prices every year which allows them to pay dividends. The companies will use whatever is reliable and cost effective, no matter what the policies in Washington are.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.