In his 2011 State of the Union Address , President Obama called for a goal , " By 2035 , 80 percent of America 's electricity will come from clean energy sources . " In January 2017 , President Obama published an article arguing that private-sector incentives will help drive decoupling of emissions and economic growth . He calls this the irreversible momentum of clean energy , which he says may occur independently of the near-term policy choices of the Trump presidency . One of President Obama 's suggestions for cleaner energy options was the use of nuclear power plants . But after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan and its power plants , the ' '' $ 54 billion ' '' in loan guarantees the president has asked Congress to approve seem doubtful
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
Energy policy of the Barack Obama administration