President Trump upended the nation’s wind industry on his first day in office by pausing new offshore leases and ordering a review of all existing offshore wind projects, which critics say threaten to raise energy prices, harm endangered whale species and blight scenic coastal areas.
Almost immediately upon his return to the Oval Office on Monday, Mr. Trump followed through with a campaign promise to curtail wind projects, which he labeled “an economic and environmental disaster.”
The stack of first-day executive orders included a memorandum pausing federal government leases for new offshore wind projects and a “comprehensive review” and possible termination of existing offshore leases.
The president also temporarily halted the Lava Ridge Wind Project, which is on federal land in Idaho and has faced significant community opposition.
“We believe the executive order that was issued last night is only the first step in future administrative executive action to stop not just offshore wind, but the wind industry writ large in America,” said Robin Shaffer, president of Protect Our Coast NJ, a group that is working to halt offshore wind projects.
Mr. Schaffer said the president sent a strong signal that he does not view wind power “as a reliable, affordable or viable source of energy for moving America forward.”
Mr. Trump has long been a critic of wind energy, particularly offshore wind. He has sided with community and environmental groups that say wind turbines will destroy scenic coastlines and harm endangered species.
Aside from an offshore wind project in Massachusetts, no wind turbines have been erected along the Eastern Seaboard, but planning is underway for millions of acres of offshore wind farms from Maine to North Carolina that would provide 18,000 megawatts of power.
Opponents say those projects are already harming fisheries and marine life.
Underwater surveys that involve blasting air guns into the ocean floor and other preparatory work for the installation of wind turbines could disturb whale migration and feeding patterns and cause the massive mammals to become injured or stranded on shore.
Some environmental groups blame the construction and operation of wind turbines on the southern coast of Massachusetts for disrupting the foraging areas of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.
Mr. Trump recently agreed. He pointed to an increase in beached whales, including right whales, in areas where windmills are up and running.
“The windmills are driving the whales crazy, obviously,” Mr. Trump told reporters earlier this month.
The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration reported an increase in whale strandings and whale mortality along the East Coast but found “no known links” to the development of offshore wind projects.
Although existing offshore wind leases are not part of the moratorium, they may be more difficult to complete under the Trump administration’s threat of a new federal review and a likely end to the flow of generous Biden administration subsidies.
Several East Coast wind projects have already been abandoned because of market uncertainty and cost increases.
Mr. Trump’s edict, Mr. Schaffer said, “introduces an incredible amount of uncertainty into the market” that could scare off new investments.
Mr. Trump ordered incoming Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to consult with the attorney general to conduct a comprehensive review of “the ecological, economic, and environmental necessity of terminating or amending any existing wind energy leases.”
Mr. Trump has support among Republican lawmakers in Congress. Rep. Jefferson Van Drew, New Jersey Republican, said Mr. Trump “promised to take action” to stop offshore wind projects and “kept his word” after working closely with him on the executive order.
Mr. Trump’s goal of lowering energy costs for consumers is likely to make offshore wind less attractive to his administration.
Some offshore wind projects, including the South Fork Wind farm in New York, will directly increase monthly energy bills when they begin operating.
The Energy Information Administration said offshore wind is nearly the most expensive source of energy generation.
The Biden administration nonetheless raced to greenlight offshore leases in a quest to boost U.S. renewable energy sources and reduce fossil fuels.
Biden officials approved 11 offshore commercial wind projects during his term. They issued their final lease on Dec. 20 for the construction of 141 windmills off the coast of Massachusetts.
Months earlier, a turbine blade failure at a wind farm off the Massachusetts coast caused a debris field of fiberglass pieces that spread for tens of miles and forced the closure of Nantucket beaches. Cleanup involved at least six truckloads of debris.
In New Jersey, Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind is moving ahead with the construction, beginning next year, of hundreds of offshore windmills that will tower 1,000 feet over the ocean.
The company received federal approval in October to begin building its first two offshore wind projects, which company officials say will generate enough renewable energy to serve more than 1 million New Jersey homes.
A company representative did not respond to an inquiry about the president’s executive order.
Mr. Shaffer said he thinks the Trump administration will find cause to terminate the lease over environmental, national security and cost concerns.
“I’m maybe an optimist here, but I think it’s unlikely that they’re going to be able to put steel in the water off New Jersey anytime in the next few years,” he said.
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
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