Steve Cortes: ‘Wind power is a multi-billion dollar scam’

Steve Cortes, founder of the League of American Workers and a former Trump advisor, said wind power is “a multi-billion dollar scam” that fails to deliver reliable or efficient power, in an interview on the Powering America Podcast.

Cortes, who produced the documentary Blown Away, argued that large-scale wind projects are economically inefficient and dependent on subsidies, while also requiring backup energy systems powered by fossil fuels.

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“Wind does not work anywhere… it is literally a scam,” Cortes said, pointing to the cost of construction, maintenance, and transmission losses that reduce usable electricity before it reaches consumers.

He said wind energy projects are often located far from population centers, leading to significant energy loss during transmission. Cortes also said the intermittent nature of wind requires full redundancy from other energy sources, which increases overall system costs.

Cortes contrasted wind development with natural gas production, which he described as a more reliable and efficient domestic energy source. He cited abundant reserves in states such as New Mexico and Pennsylvania and said pipeline infrastructure allows energy delivery without comparable losses.

“We have literally centuries of supply of natural gas,” Cortes said, adding that the resource can meet U.S. energy demand in the near and medium term.

He also pointed to industrial energy demand, including semiconductor manufacturing projects in Arizona, which require consistent and large-scale power generation. According to Cortes, such projects are being designed to run on natural gas due to reliability constraints within the existing grid.

Cortes said policy decisions have limited the expansion of natural gas infrastructure, including pipelines between neighboring states, despite available supply. He attributed those decisions to political opposition and environmental policy priorities.

While critical of wind energy, Cortes said some renewable technologies may have limited applications. He said solar energy can be viable in specific environments, particularly when installed on existing structures, and identified geothermal energy as a potential long-term solution under continued technological development.

The interview focused on domestic energy policy and the tradeoffs between reliability, cost, and environmental impact in the U.S. power grid.

About Steve Cortes

Steve Cortes is the founder of the League of American Workers, a former advisor to President Donald Trump, and a documentary filmmaker focused on energy and economic policy.