From Nathan Dombeck

Janesville

To the Editor:

The old adage ‘action speaks louder than words’ continues to ring true, especially as it relates to our elected officials. Montana Republican senator Tim Sheehy is toeing his party’s line, he’s referred to renewable energy as ‘goofy, subsidized green energy crap’. He was a staunch supporter of 2025’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ which cut renewable energy subsidies, EV subsidies, solar tax credits etc to ribbons.

Recent reporting from POLITICO indicates that senator Sheehy installed solar panels and battery storage systems at his house between 2020-2021; more interesting still, these were installed during a period where a 26% rebate was available to recover a portion of the cost to install such systems. Pretty ‘goofy’, huh?

The most fiscally and environmentally responsible way of powering our lives moving forward is with renewables; solar panels are the cheapest way to generate electricity in 2026. Deriding cheap, reliable, nonpolluting ‘green’ energy has become a character trait of most Republican politicians, but even they understand the intrinsic benefits. Despite this, hypocrisy and virtue-signaling on party lines continue unabated.

The ongoing wars in Ukraine and Iran, they are teaching us a surprising lesson about resiliency. Resiliency of the human spirit, sure, but also a different kind — that relating to the electrical grid.

Take Ukraine for example — it is estimated to have suffered $56 billion in damages to the energy sector, with half of its energy infrastructure destroyed, according to Yale360. Yet in one of the most intense winters in the last decade, lights and heat are staying on, with credit primarily attributed to its burgeoning use of renewable energy. Ukraine installed 1.5 GW of renewable energy last year, enough to power 1.1 million homes.

Solar power is often spread out in larger areas or even generated on-site, making it decentralized — an unattractive target for aggressive country’s looking to cripple a nation’s grid. Once installed, electrons flow into solar panels from the sun — not via tanker ships that can be blockaded. There is not a national market for sunlight, so electricity pricing is not as subject to the whims of global economic powerbrokers.

The war in Iran is showing us this lesson in sharp focus — witness the fluctuating price of oil and gas due to the conflict, inflicting financial pain across our economy. Pursuing the renewable energy transition will benefit people and the environment, and ultimately hollow out the soft power wielded by petrostates and dictators.