By JENNIFER McDERMOTT
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday 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 has been hostile to 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, which cause climate change, 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.
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