President Trump has launched a broad attack on the U.S. wind power industry, potentially blocking new offshore wind farms in the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean as well as many smaller wind farms on federal and private lands. issued a comprehensive executive order. All over the country.
The order, signed by Trump in the Oval Office on Monday night, halts all federal land and water leases for new wind farms pending a new government review of the wind industry. It has become. It also directs federal agencies to stop issuing permits for all wind farms in the country until further notice, including on private lands that may require federal wildlife and other environmental permits. may cause disruption to your project.
Although the order does not call for a freeze on wind projects already under construction, Trump directed the U.S. attorney general and secretary of the interior to consider the possibility of “terminating or modifying” leases already issued. did. This means projects that already have federal approval could face new hurdles.
Taken together, the moves could be a devastating blow to the U.S. wind industry, which provides 10% of the nation's electricity and is a major source of electricity for Republican-led states such as Iowa, Oklahoma and Texas. The wind industry currently has nearly 40 gigawatts of projects under development in the Atlantic Ocean and in states such as Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota, enough to power tens of millions of homes.
The Biden administration has approved permits for 11 commercial-scale wind farms along the Atlantic Coast. Five of them are under construction and one has already been completed. But eastern states like New York and Massachusetts wanted to build more offshore wind projects to meet their renewable energy goals. That goal is now in jeopardy.
The wind industry has sharply criticized Trump's order, which the president says the nation is in an “energy emergency” and needs all available power to power new data centers and factories. This is contrary to a separate declaration on Monday.
“Wind power is a critical component to our ability to meet the rapidly increasing power demands of manufacturing and data centers that are key to our national security,” said the head of the U.S. Clean Power Association, a renewable industry trade group. said Jason Grumet, Managing Director. “The possibility that the federal government would actively seek to oppose energy production on private land by American companies is contrary to the character and interests of our country.”
Mr. Trump has been a vocal critic of wind power for years, after unsuccessfully trying to block the construction of an offshore wind farm fronting one of his golf courses in Scotland. In his inauguration speech on Monday, the new president launched into a lengthy diatribe against wind turbines.
“We're not going to play against the wind,” Trump told supporters gathered at Capital One Arena in Washington. “Big, ugly windmills ruin your neighborhood.”
His order for widespread enforcement of new wind farms further increases challenges for the industry.
Wind power remains one of the fastest growing sources of electricity in the United States, but its growth has slowed in recent years in the face of rising costs and high interest rates. Many wind energy companies currently face delays in securing grid connections and opposition from rural communities worried about disruption from new turbines the size of skyscrapers. To date, more than 400 counties, including most of Tennessee and Kentucky, have imposed local restrictions or bans on wind turbines.
Developers of large, complex and expensive offshore wind projects are also struggling with rising costs and supply chain hurdles.
On Monday, before Trump signed the executive order, Orsted, the world's largest offshore wind developer, announced it would take about $1.7 billion in writedowns on projects off the U.S. East Coast. The company blamed the setback on rising costs for its projects due to rising interest rates in the U.S. and construction delays at Sunrise Wind, a large-scale project off the coast of Montauk, New York.
Orsted CEO Mats Knipper said on a call with analysts on Tuesday that the U.S.' The company blamed “early-stage industries” for the writedown.
Experts said Trump's order would make things even more difficult. The possibility that Mr. Trump may seek to cancel leases and projects already approved by the Biden administration could also pose a long-term drag on the industry.
“Project developers may be wary of investing in capital-intensive sectors that face clearly higher election risks,” said Timothy Fox, managing director at consulting firm Clearview Energy Partners. , this order could have a negative impact beyond President Trump's term.”
Monday's executive order ordered federal agencies to conduct a “comprehensive” review of federal wind permitting practices, including studying the ecological impacts of wind turbines on birds and marine mammals. Trump has claimed that offshore wind farms are killing endangered whales in the Atlantic Ocean, but scientists say they have found no evidence to support that claim.
The order also adds new legal uncertainty for the industry. The Biden administration has defended wind projects facing legal challenges from local opponents, including Revolution Wind and South Fork near Rhode Island, an offshore wind project off the coast of Virginia, and an offshore wind project in Maryland. Ta.
But with Monday's executive order, the Trump administration is unlikely to continue vigorously defending these projects in court, Fox said.
“Many offshore wind projects have been approved or are close to approval after years of review,” said Eric, president of the National Marine Industry Association, which represents oil, gas and wind companies operating offshore. Milito said. “A small delay in any emerging industry can lead to multi-year setbacks, creating bottlenecks and rising costs that ultimately impact energy consumers.”
For example, plans to install floating wind turbines off the coast of California or in the Gulf of Maine have not yet received federal approval and are at risk of being canceled.
As part of his order, Trump issued a moratorium on the Lava Ridge Wind Project, a 231-turbine development on federal land in Idaho visible from the World War II landmark, but opposed by the entire state Legislature. are. The project had already received approval from the Bureau of Land Management under the Biden administration.
Opponents of offshore wind projects, which often include fishermen concerned about disruption to their operations, landowners concerned about landscape degradation, and some groups associated with the fossil fuel industry, are reluctant to accept Trump's executive order. I welcomed it.
Jerry Lehman, chief executive officer of the New England Fisheries Management Association, which opposes offshore wind projects, said: “The new administration will take away our symbols from foreign energy companies and alphabet soup agencies that are destroying our way of life.'' We are grateful to the United States for protecting this multi-generational trade.”
Stanley Reed contributed reporting
