By JENNIFER McDERMOTT Associated Press
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 20th temporarily halting offshore wind lease sales in federal waters and pausing the issuance of approvals, permits and loans for both onshore and offshore wind projects.
The interior secretary will review wind leasing and permitting practices for federal waters and lands. The assessment will consider the environmental impact of wind projects on wildlife, the economic costs associated with the intermittent generation of electricity and the effect of subsidies on the viability of the wind industry, the order states.
Trump wants to increase drilling for oil and gas and limit the development of renewable energy, particularly offshore wind. Trump’s pick for interior secretary, Doug Burgum, was asked during his confirmation hearing whether he would commit to continuing with offshore wind leases that have been issued. Burgum said projects that make sense and are already in law will continue.
Wind power currently provides about 10% of the electricity generated in the United States, making it the nation’s largest source of renewable energy. There is 73 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity under development in the U.S., enough to power 30 million homes, according to the American Clean Power Association.
The order also temporarily prohibits Magic Valley Energy from continuing to develop the Lava Ridge Wind Project in Idaho. The federal government approved a scaled-down plan for the wind farm in December over local opposition, including from groups concerned about its proximity to a historic site where Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II.
On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to end the offshore wind industry as soon as he returned to the White House. He wants to boost production of fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas and coal in order for the U.S. to have the lowest-cost energy and electricity of any nation in the world, he says.
It’s unclear how much authority he has to stop wind projects, particularly those that have their federal permits. His order will likely be challenged in court, much like an executive order President Joe Biden signed soon after taking office in 2021 that suspended new oil and gas lease sales was challenged.
Soon after his election, Trump tasked a New Jersey congressman and vocal critic of offshore wind, Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew, with drafting an executive order on offshore wind he could issue early in his term. Van Drew said he quickly sent the draft to Burgum. Van Drew views the executive order as a first step toward an eventual moratorium on offshore wind development.
By including onshore wind projects too, Monday’s order is far broader than what Van Drew proposed. Trump says wind turbines are horrible, only work with subsidies, and are “many, many times” more expensive than natural gas.
Offshore wind is among the sources of new power generation that will cost the most, at about $100 per megawatt hour for new projects connecting to the grid in 2028, according to estimates from the Energy Information Administration. That includes tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act, which reduces the cost of renewable technologies. But onshore wind is one of the cheapest sources, at about $31 on average for new projects.
New natural gas plants are expected to produce electricity at nearly $43 per megawatt hour, according to the estimates. The EIA said in addition to price, it’s important to consider the reliability of the grid — natural gas power plants can be operated at any time throughout the day, unlike solar or wind.
Robin Shaffer, president of Protect Our Coast NJ, one of the most vocal groups opposing offshore wind on the East Coast, said the new executive order is only the first step toward the U.S. moving away from offshore wind, a “harmful technology,” and toward more promising, sustainable energy sources.
But Kit Kennedy, managing director for power at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the Trump administration is putting dirty fossil fuels front and center while delaying progress on renewable energy projects. “This is not only bad for clean air, public health and national security, it cuts short a promising source of additional power at a time when the grid needs it most,” Kennedy said in a statement.
The Biden administration sought to ramp up offshore wind as a climate change solution, setting national goals to deploy offshore wind energy, holding lease sales and approving nearly a dozen commercial-scale offshore wind energy projects. The nation’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm opened in March, a 12-turbine wind farm called South Fork Wind 35 miles (56 kilometers) east of Montauk Point, New York.
Meanwhile, the American Clean Power Association (ACP) released the following statement from ACP CEO Jason Grumet in response to President Trump’s Executive Order on offshore wind and onshore wind leasing and permitting:
President Trump is correct that absent significant changes in energy policy, our nation will not be able to power our growth in manufacturing and achieve digital dominance that is key to national security while lowering consumer energy bills. ACP strongly supports President Trump’s effort to reform the permitting process to speed the development of all forms of domestic energy production. ACP member companies also look forward to creating hundreds of thousands of new U.S. jobs as we did during the first Trump Administration.
ACP strongly opposes blanket measures to halt or impede development of domestic wind energy on federal lands and waters. The contradiction between the energy-focused Executive Orders is stark: while on one hand the Administration seeks to reduce bureaucracy and unleash energy production, on the other it increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers.
The possibility that the federal government could seek to actively oppose energy production by American companies on private land is at odds with our nation’s character as well as our national interests.
For too long, we have witnessed careening policy restrictions on the development of energy resources on our nation’s vast federal lands. Regardless of Administration, “some of the above” strategies are not good energy policy. No nation can achieve energy dominance absent consistent policy that moves beyond the idea that energy systems have partisan character.
Wind power is an essential element of our ability to serve soaring electricity demand for manufacturing and data centers that are key to national security. It is also playing a growing role in our energy systems in red and blue states across the country. In fact, states voting for President Trump are eight of the top ten states in terms of reliance on wind power with many depending on wind for a significant share of their electricity use. Restricting wind development in these regions is certain to increase consumer energy bills. Wind development is also supporting more than 300,000 American jobs, many in construction, manufacturing, shipbuilding, and plant operations. Offshore wind is also helping to revitalize America’s supply chain, bringing back U.S. shipbuilding, and creating economic prosperity and jobs, with billions of dollars in new investment.
While we clearly have work to do, ACP embraces the task of working with the Administration, providing insights and data to demonstrate that positive role that wind power is playing in our nation’s economic growth and security.
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