Solar, Wind ESG/ETC Closures Accelerate

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- October 7, 2025

“One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.” ( – Milton Friedman, 1975)

The “socially responsible” investing bubble–a combination of government subsidies and political correctness–is leaking air. Yesterday’s post reported the demise of the Net Zero Banking Alliance. Now the wind and solar Exchange Traded Fund [ETF] is in freefall. As Eric Balchunas, Senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, recently reported:

Solar, Wind ETF Closures Show Just How Much the Climate Has Changed. 5 ESG ETF closures in Aug, now 21 for year, 74 total… with 50 more in danger bc under the $50m mark. Basically when all is said and done about half of all ESG ETFs launched will likely be shuttered

One wealth analyst commented: “It seems to be a category started with good intent (ESG/Impact) but was quickly hijacked by politicians for their own causes and that dilutes any initial good intent.”

But good intentions are not enough. As Milton Friedman noted:

One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results. (1975)

Concentrated power is not rendered harmless by the good intentions of those who create it. (1962)

Wind and solar and other politically correct, economically incorrect energies and technologies are not per se good. They are really a per se bad if the market rejects and government enables. And wind and solar have environmental issues that are opposed at the grassroots by the on-the-spot landowners and ecologists.