President Donald Trump signed an executive order blocking all lease sales for offshore wind projects and pausing any new approvals, permits, leases, or loans for wind projects both on and offshore.
The executive order fulfills the president’s promise to prevent the construction of offshore wind projects as he seeks to reorient energy policy on fossil fuels.
It temporarily withdraws wind from leasing in all areas within the Offshore Continental Shelf, barring any area in the region from being considered for new or renewed wind energy projects. The order explicitly states those areas can still be leased for projects dealing with oil, gas, minerals, or environmental conservation.
While the order claims no rights under existing leases will be affected in the leasing withdrawal, it also gives the secretary of the interior the authority to conduct reviews regarding terminating or amending any existing wind energy leases.
The executive order also calls on the secretary of the interior to conduct a comprehensive assessment and review of federal wind leasing and permitting practices, considering environmental and economic impacts, before issuing any permits or approvals for projects onshore and offshore.
Throughout his campaign, Trump vowed to target offshore wind, blocking new projects and federal funding for the industry in his new administration.
He has accused offshore wind turbines of destroying “everything,” calling offshore wind “the most expensive energy there is.” Trump, who has railed against offshore wind since before his first presidency, has accused the clean energy turbines of killing whales due to vibrations and noise — a claim for which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has said there is no evidence.
Other critics have blasted the energy source over its intermittent nature and heavy reliance on specific weather.
Just minutes before signing the order, Trump said turbines and onshore windmills “ruin your neighborhood” and “beautiful landscapes.”
He also slighted the industry in a separate executive order declaring a national energy emergency within the United States. In that order, the president detailed a definition of what “energy” or “energy sources” means to the administration. While that definition includes fossil fuels, uranium, geothermal, and biofuels, it leaves out solar and wind.
It had long been unclear whether Trump’s anticipated executive action would affect new construction or all projects on and offshore.
In the weeks leading up to the inauguration, many in the industry had remained cautiously optimistic that offshore wind could still play a role in Trump’s “America First” energy agenda and all-of-the-above strategy.
“I think we’re in a place where the benefits of offshore wind are in red and blue states. And when you start piecing together the diversity of our energy mix across the U.S. to deliver what we truly need for demand, I think that there is a place that it can fit in Trump’s plant to be able to deliver that,” Hillary Bright, executive director of the offshore wind advocacy group Turn Forward, previously told the Washington Examiner.
Ahead of the executive order, Bright asked the administration to avoid fully shunning offshore wind projects.
Bright noted that farms from Texas to Virginia have supported thousands of construction and port jobs, boosting local economics.
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“As President Trump’s top energy nominees said to Congress just last week, a successful all-of-the-above U.S. energy strategy involves taking advantage of all sources at our disposal. We urge President Trump to unleash this innovative and growing source of American energy to help boost the dynamic American economy and strengthen this nation’s energy security,” Bright said in a statement.
“A national energy emergency requires us to unleash all necessary sources of American energy — including offshore wind,” she added.