WASHINGTON, Aug 22, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - The US Commerce Department has launched a national security investigation into imports of wind turbines and their components, after President Donald Trump's repeated criticisms of the energy source.

The probe comes after the White House broadened the reach of its 50-percent steel and aluminum tariffs this week to include wind turbines and their parts.

It could lead to additional tariffs, quotas or other trade restrictions if imports are deemed to harm US national security.

The department's Bureau of Industry and Security began the investigation on August 13, and is seeking public comment on issues including US dependence on foreign supply chains and the potential for foreign nations to "weaponize their control over supplies of wind turbines and their parts" through export restrictions, according to a department notice released Thursday.

The probe will also scrutinize foreign government subsidies, predatory trade practices and the concentration of US imports from a small number of suppliers or nations, the notice said.

The move aligns with broader White House policies critical of wind energy, which Trump has attacked as "ugly," unreliable, expensive and overly dependent on foreign supply chains, particularly from China.

"Any State that has built and relied on WINDMILLS and SOLAR for power are seeing RECORD BREAKING INCREASES IN ELECTRICITY AND ENERGY COSTS," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday.

"THE SCAM OF THE CENTURY! We will not approve wind or farmer destroying Solar."

The Trump administration has worked with Congress to repeal tax credits for wind and solar, tightened restrictions on federal leases for renewable energy projects, and rescinded designated offshore wind areas.

China -- the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases -- has invested heavily in its renewable energy sector, building almost twice as much wind and solar capacity as the rest of the world combined, according to research published last year.

The European Union is also probing Chinese suppliers of wind turbines.