Trump has vowed to kill US offshore wind projects. Will he achieve?

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Opponents of offshore wind vigor projects expect President-elect Donald Trump to kill an industry he has vowed to complete on the first day he returns to the White House.

But it might not be that straightforward.

Many of the largest offshore wind companies put a courageous face on the election results, pledging to work with Trump and Congress to construct power projects and ignoring the incoming president’s oft-stated hostility to them.

In campaign appearances, Trump railed against offshore wind and promised to sign an executive order to block such projects.

“We are going to make sure that that ends on Day 1,” Trump said in a May talk. “I’m going to write it out in an executive order. It’s going to complete on Day 1.”

“They ruin everything, they’re horrible, the most expensive vigor there is,” Trump said. “They ruin the surroundings, they kill the birds, they kill the whales.”

Numerous federal and state scientific agencies declare there is no evidence linking offshore wind preparation to a spate of whale deaths along the U.S. East Coast in recent years. Turbines have been known to kill shorebirds, but the industry and regulators declare there are policies to mitigate damage to the surroundings.

Trump has railed against offshore wind turbines spoiling the view from a golf course he owns in Scotland. But numerous environmental groups declare the real rationale he opposes offshore wind is his back for the fossil fuel industry.

There is almost 65 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity under advancement in the U.S., enough to power more than 26 million homes, and some turbines are already spinning in several states, according to the American tidy Power Association.

Currently operating projects include the Block Island Wind Farm in Rhode Island, the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind pilot assignment and the South Fork Wind Farm about 35 miles (56 kilometers) east of Montauk Point on recent York’s Long Island.

Trump is unlikely to complete those projects but might have more debt over ones still in the planning stage, those in the debate declare.

Bob Stern, who headed an office in the U.S. vigor Department responsible for environmental protection during the Ford, Carter and Reagan administrations, said Trump can get Congress to reduce or eliminate responsibility credits for offshore wind that were granted in the Biden administration’s expense boost Reduction Act. Those credits are an integral part of the finances of many offshore wind projects.

Stern, who leads the recent Jersey anti-offshore wind throng Save LBI, said Trump also could issue executive orders prohibiting further offshore leases and rescinding approval for ones already approved while pushing Congress to amend federal laws granting more protection for marine mammals.

The president-elect also can appoint leaders of agencies involved in offshore wind regulation who would be unfriendly to it or less supportive.

Opponents of offshore wind, many of them Republicans, were giddy following the election, saying they fully expect Trump to put an complete to the industry.

“I depend this is a tipping point for the offshore wind industry in America,” said Robin Shaffer, president of Protect Our Coast NJ, one of the most vocal groups opposing offshore wind on the East Coast. “They have been given a glidepath by Democrat-run administrations at the federal and state level for many years. For this industry, (Tuesday’s) results will bring headwinds far greater than they have faced previously.”

But Tina Zappile, director of the Hughes Center for community Policy at recent Jersey’s Stockton University, noted that in 2018, Trump Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke voiced powerful back for offshore wind. And even though the president-elect has bashed the technology, she predicted he won’t just make it leave away.

“Offshore wind might appear to be on the chopping block — Trump’s explicitly said this was something he’d fix on the first day — but when the economics of offshore wind are in alignment with his overall strategies of returning manufacturing to America and becoming vigor-independent, his administration is likely to back away slowly from this claim,” she said in an interview. “Offshore wind may be temporarily hampered, but its long-term prospects in the U.S. are unlikely to be hurt.”

Commercial fishermen in Maine said they aspiration the Trump administration will undo policies designed to assist construct and approve offshore wind projects, saying regulators attempted to “upcoming-proof” the industry against political transformation. Jerry Leeman, CEO of the recent England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association, called on Trump to reverse a commitment to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030.

The offshore wind industry is taking an optimistic stance, pledging to work with Trump his political allies. National and recent Jersey wind industry groups, and several offshore wind developers including Atlantic Shores and Denmark-based Orsted, issued similarly worded statements highlighting terms likely to appeal to Republicans including job creation, economic advancement and national safety.

“By combining the strengths of all domestic vigor resources, the Trump administration can advance an economy that is dynamic, secure, and tidy,” Jason Grumet, CEO of the American tidy Power Association, said in a statement. “We are committed to working with the Trump-Vance administration and the recent Congress to continue this great American achievement narrative.”

But few Republicans were in a welcoming mood following the election. recent Jersey Assemblyman Paul Kanitra listed the major offshore wind companies in a Facebook post, saying, “It’s period to pack your bags and get the hell away from the Jersey Shore, our marine life, fishing industry and attractive beaches.”

Kanitra said he was looking forward “to your ownership prices tanking.” And that was starting to happen.

The ownership prices of European offshore wind companies, many of which are planning or building projects on the U.S. East Coast, plunged amid fears the recent administration would seek to leisurely or complete such projects. Orsted closed down nearly 14% on Wednesday and was down 11% over the history five days. Turbine manufacturer Vestas Wind Systems was down nearly 24% over that same period.

Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a recent Jersey Republican, hosted Trump at a rally earlier this year at which Trump again vowed to kill offshore wind.

“We are currently working out the specifics of what that will look like once he takes office again this January,” VanDrew said. “President Trump is a excellent partner of recent Jersey, and he understands the devastating impact these projects will have on our communities.”

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