Days after its bombshell release, the full implications of President Trump’s six-month pause of offshore wind projects remain unclear to the industry and its opponents alike.
Opponents of offshore wind power were publicly jubilant at Trump’s moratorium order. In a Jan. 23 social media post, Trump praised Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-NJ, for opposing wind projects off his New Jersey congressional district.
“Congratulations to the great people of New Jersey. You have FINALLY won your war on stupidity!!!” Trump typed Jan. 23.
But at week’s end, some opponents are counseling caution and continued activism among their allies.
The six-month pause is “a positive step,” wrote Robert Stern, president of the Save Long Beach Island group in Van Drew’s district. “However, that does not directly impact the
Atlantic Shores South project, which already has a lease and federal approvals, or the North project which has a lease area but no project approvals.”
The Atlantic Shores project, a joint venture by Shell New Energies and EDF, would build up to 195 turbines more than 1,000’ tall off Long Beach Island in its first phase. Now it’s the primary target of Jersey Shore activist groups in beachfront communities, after developer Ørsted suddenly cancelled its Ocean Wind 1 project in fall 2023, faced with escalating costs and local opposition.
Ongoing lawsuits filed by opposition activists in federal court are likely to serve as test cases for how new Department of Interior and Attorney General could “implement the results of their leasing and permitting review,” Stern wrote. “The legal arguments and detailed supporting technical analysis in our lawsuits should also provide strong justification for the Secretary of the Interior to cancel existing leases and rescind project approvals.”
In southern New England waters, industry and opponents are still parsing the moratorium’s effect. Municipal officials on Nantucket island, close to the densest offshore wind leasing areas, say they can foresee a menu of potential results.
“In terms of Nantucket, the order would pause planned projects and projects currently undergoing permitting review: Beacon Wind, Vineyard Wind 2 (formerly Vineyard Wind Northeast), and Bay State Wind,” town officials wrote in a Jan. 23 email update to residents. “It isn’t clear how the executive order will affect projects that already have their permits from BOEM: Vineyard Wind 1, New England Wind 1 & 2, and SouthCoast Wind.”
If the Trump administration’s Department of Interior and attorney general’s office review earlier permitting decisions, “we have no way of knowing right now what the outcome will be,” according to Nantucket officials.
The federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement ended its suspension of work on the Vineyard Wind project Jan. 17 – three days before the Biden administration ceded control to the newly inaugurated President Donald Trump. BSEE halted work after the July 13 blade failure at one Vineyard Wind turbine.
The permission to resume operations came with the requirement for Vineyard Wind and turbine builder GE Vernova to replace turbine blades manufactured at LM Wind Power in Gaspé, Quebec, where the defective blade was constructed and managers allegedly falsified testing results.
Meanwhile wind power advocates continue to press their case that the industry has already brought major investment and new jobs in both offshore and onshore wind, and those could be endangered across the political spectrum.
“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,” argued Jason Grumet, CEO of the American Clean Power Association.
Wind power “is also playing a growing role in our energy systems in red and blue states across the country,” Grumet said in a statement after Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order. “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.”
While Trump was promising to end wind power projects during his 2024 presidential campaign, the industry advocacy group Oceantic Network pushed back with its own campaign touting how wind technology has boosted U.S. jobs.
“Under a national energy emergency, created by a rise in unprecedented energy demand, curtailing a power source capable of providing base load generation and creating new jobs across 40 states is baffling,” Burdock said Jan. 20. “Today’s actions threaten to strand $25 billion already flowing into new ports, vessels, and manufacturing centers, and curtail future investments across our country. We urge the administration to reverse this sweeping action and keep America working in offshore energy as part of its commitment to an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy.”
Commercial fishing advocates are poised to take advantage of the six-month reprieve.
“We are excited to collaborate with the new administration as they embark on the upcoming review of federal leasing and permitting practices for offshore wind projects,” the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) said in. Jan. 21 statement.
“This is an opportunity to ensure that all voices – especially those of the fishing industry, local businesses, and environmental stakeholders – are heard as we move forward,” said the group, first organized in 2018 as coalition of East Coast fishermen and port communities.
“A particular cause for celebration today is the reprieve granted to regions that have yet to be subject to offshore wind leases. This gives these areas crucial time to engage in meaningful dialogue about the future of offshore wind and its compatibility with local priorities and concerns.”
