Trump has vowed to kill US offshore wind projects. Will he succeed?
ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey — Opponents of offshore wind energy projects expect President-elect Donald Trump to kill an industry he pledged to end on his first day in the White House.
But maybe it’s not that simple.
Many of the largest offshore wind companies showed courage in the face of the election results, pledging to work with Trump and Congress to build power projects and ignoring the new president’s oft-stated hostility toward them.
In his campaign appearances, Trump spoke out against offshore wind energy and promised to sign an executive order to block such projects.
“We’re going to make this end on day one,” Trump said in a speech in May. “I will write it in a decree. This will end on the first day. »
“They destroy everything, they’re horrible, they’re the most expensive energy there is,” Trump said. “They’re destroying the environment, they’re killing birds, they’re killing whales.”
Many federal and state scientific agencies claim that there is no proof linking the preparation of offshore winds to a wave of whale deaths along the U.S. East Coast in recent years. The turbines are known to kill shorebirds, but industry and regulators say there are policies to mitigate environmental damage.
Trump has spoken out against offshore wind turbines that spoil the view from a golf course he owns in Scotland. But many environmental groups say the real reason he opposes offshore wind power is his support for the fossil fuel industry.
Nearly 65 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity is under development in the United States, enough to power more than 26 million homes, and some turbines are already spinning in several states, according to the American Clean Power Association.
Projects currently operating include the Block Island Wind Farm in Rhode Island, the Virginia Coast Offshore Wind Pilot Project, and the South Fork Wind Farm about 35 miles (56 kilometers) east of Montauk Point on Long Island in New York.
Trump is unlikely to halt those plans, but he could have more leverage over those still in the planning stages, debate participants say.
Bob Stern, who led a U.S. Department of Energy office responsible for environmental protection during the Ford, Carter and Reagan administrations, said Trump could get Congress to reduce or eliminate tax credits for offshore wind energy that were granted under the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act. These credits are an integral part of the financing of many offshore wind projects.
Stern, who leads the New Jersey anti-offshore wind group Save LBI, said Trump could also issue executive orders banning new offshore leases and rescinding approval of those already approved, while pushing Congress to change federal laws granting more protection to marine mammals.
The president-elect can also appoint heads of agencies involved in regulating offshore wind who are hostile or less supportive of it.
Opponents of offshore wind, many of whom are Republicans, were giddy after the election, saying they fully expected Trump to shut down the industry.
“I think this is a turning point for the offshore wind industry in America,” said Robin Shaffer, president of Protect Our Coast NJ, one of the most vocal groups against offshore wind power on the East Coast. “For many years, Democratic-led administrations at the federal and state levels have given them a path forward. For this industry, (Tuesday’s) results will bring far greater headwinds than they have faced before .”
But Tina Zappile, director of the Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton University in New Jersey, noted that in 2018, Trump’s Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke expressed strong support for offshore wind. And while the president-elect has criticized the technology, she predicted he won’t just make it disappear.
“Offshore wind may appear to be on the verge of death – Trump has explicitly said it is something he will fix on day one – but when the economics of offshore wind align with his overall strategies “To return manufacturing to America and become energy-independent, his administration will likely slowly back away from that assertion,” she said in an interview. “Offshore wind could be temporarily hampered, but that is unlikely. its long-term prospects in the United States are affected.”
Maine commercial fishermen said they hope the Trump administration rolls back policies designed to help build and approve offshore wind projects, saying regulators have tried to “protect the future” of the industry from political change. Jerry Leeman, CEO of the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association, called on Trump to reverse his pledge to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030.
The offshore wind industry is taking an optimistic stance, pledging to work with Trump, its political allies. National and New Jersey wind industry groups, as well as several offshore wind developers, including Atlantic Shores and Denmark-based Orsted, issued similarly worded statements highlighting terms likely to appeal to Republicans, including the creation of jobs, economic development and national security.
“By combining the strengths of all domestic energy resources, the Trump administration can advance a vibrant, secure and clean economy,” Jason Grumet, CEO of the American Clean Power Association, said in a statement. “We are committed to working with the Trump-Vance administration and the new Congress to continue this great American success story.”
But few Republicans were in a welcoming mood after the election. New Jersey Congressman Paul Kanitra listed major offshore wind companies in a Facebook post, saying, “It’s time to pack your bags and get away from the Jersey Shore, our marine life, our fishing industry and our beautiful beaches. »
Kanitra said he was looking forward to “the fall in your stock prices.” And it was starting to happen.
Share prices of European offshore wind energy companies, many of which are planning or building projects on the U.S. East Coast, have plunged amid fears that the new administration will seek to slow or end those projects. Orsted closed down almost 14% on Wednesday and 11% over the past five days. Turbine maker Vestas Wind Systems fell nearly 24% over the same period.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a Republican from New Jersey, hosted Trump at a rally earlier this year in which Trump again vowed to kill offshore wind energy.
“We are currently working on the details of what that will look like once he returns to office in January,” VanDrew said. “President Trump is a good friend of New Jersey and understands the devastating impact these projects will have on our communities.”
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