The future of offshore wind under the Trump administration is growing increasingly uncertain after President Donald Trump’s attacks on the industry escalated in recent weeks.

The administration moved to make it more difficult for new offshore wind farms to be developed while also targeting projects that are under construction and fully permitted by the federal government.

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Clean energy advocates hoped that wind power would have a role to play in Trump’s second term, as the administration faces the problem of securing enough power to meet growing demands brought on by the artificial intelligence race.

However, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum insisted this week that offshore wind essentially has no “future” in the United States right now. 

“Right now, under this administration, there is not a future,” Burgum said of the industry during the GasTech conference in Milan. “I think the fact that subsidies have been either cut back or limited means that it’s likely that there won’t be future offshore wind built in America.”

Halting construction

Burgum’s remarks come just weeks after the Interior Department issued a stop-work order for the Revolution Wind offshore wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island. It cited unspecified “national security” concerns.

The project, which is being developed by Danish wind giant Ørsted, is estimated to be roughly 80% completed with around 45 out of 65 planned turbines installed. Recent federal court filings revealed that the company is losing roughly $2 million a day over costs incurred from the stop-work order. 

However, Ørsted faces billions of dollars’ worth of revenue losses if it cannot meet critical deadlines outlined in its power purchase agreements with utilities in Connecticut and Rhode Island, according to the Providence Journal. Under the contracts, the wind farm must start generating power by the end of December of next year and mid-January 2027. Otherwise, the utilities could terminate the contracts.

If the project were to be scrapped entirely, officials with Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection warned it could cost consumers up to $500,000, an increase of between 5% and 7% in their electric bills.

“Every day that goes by without a resolution to this largely unexplained stop work order is a waste of American resources,” Hillary Bright, executive director of offshore wind nonprofit organization Turn Forward, said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.

“Hundreds of union workers sit idle, wondering if their jobs still exist. Regional grid officials counting on this critical new energy source to stabilize the grid and hold down electricity bills must plan for increased risks to reliability,” Bright added. “And billions of dollars of U.S. infrastructure investment are slowly being drained rather than helping a project come to life.”

Other projects in the air 

In the last few weeks, the Trump administration has moved to yank federal permits previously granted to offshore wind projects set to be constructed along the East Coast.

This included construction and operations permits granted to U.S. Wind for the Maryland Offshore Wind Project, also known as MarWin, which was approved by the Biden administration in December 2024.

The wind farm is expected to have up to 114 turbines that will generate enough electricity to power over 718,000 homes.

The Interior Department is also targeting permits granted to SouthCoast Wind and New England Wind off the coast of Massachusetts. All three projects have not yet started construction. 

Five major offshore wind projects, including Revolution Wind, are under construction. Trump previously issued a stop-work order for Empire Wind off the coast of New York. However, it was ultimately lifted after the administration said it had made a deal with Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) to approve two gas pipelines in her state. 

The three other wind farms under construction are Vineyard Wind off the coast of Massachusetts, Sunrise Wind off the coast of New York, and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind in Virginia. 

Burgum said that all five projects are being reviewed by the administration this week. 

“Yes, they were permitted, but they got moved through a very fast, ideologically driven permitting process,” Burgum said. 

While permit reviews of such projects are not uncommon at the start of any administration, many in the offshore wind industry have said the Trump administration is going a step too far. 

“These particular projects have already been through nearly a decade of rigorous studies and permitting reviews,” Katharine Kollins, president of the Southeastern Wind Coalition, told the Washington Examiner. 

“While this administration has shown hostility to the industry, we believe the long-term momentum behind wind energy, which is driven by market demand, technological progress, and private investment, will continue,” Kollins added. “What’s important is that we provide a stable and predictable regulatory environment that allows this industry to provide the domestic energy needed to fuel our economic growth.”

Republican support 

As Trump and his allies have rallied against the offshore wind industry, a growing number of Republicans in Congress have directly challenged the crackdown or come out in support of various projects.

Just this week, Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA) issued her support for the Coast Virginia Offshore Wind Project. The project, which is being built by utility Dominion Energy, is set to be the largest offshore wind farm in the country. 

Kiggans, who did not openly criticize the administration, said she remains a “staunch” advocate of the project due to the economic development and job growth in the region. She also noted that it has become crucial for meeting energy security demands in Virginia, particularly when it comes to defense. 

“I always speak about that project in light of the national security benefit and that benefit to Naval Air Station Oceana,” Kiggans told reporters on Monday. “I have a base here that needs a lot of infrastructure help, and Dominion Energy has been a great partner for us. That public-private partnership is giving Naval Air Station Oceana a $500 million power grid upgrade.”

Similarly, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) offered his support for the project, which has somehow remained unscathed in the administration’s offshore wind crackdown thus far. 

“Yes, I’ve talked to the Trump team and there are ongoing conversations about that,” Johnson told E&E News when asked about the Virginia Beach project this week. “I understand the priority for Virginians, and we want to do right by them, so we’ll see.”

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Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) has also quietly backed the offshore wind farm and reportedly called Burgum last month to voice his support.

However, with Burgum insisting that offshore wind has no “future” and Trump vowing not to let any new windmills be built in the U.S., any public support from Republican industry allies might be for naught.