President-elect Donald Trump has asked New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a noted critic of offshore wind, to pen an executive order to pause wind energy projects. Van Drew recently shared that Trump wants to revisit offshore wind development to fulfill his campaign promise to shutter the industry and boost fossil fuels to lower US energy costs. Van Drew confirmed he submitted a draft order to Doug Burgum, Trump's proposed interior secretary, that aims to suspend offshore wind activities from Rhode Island to Virginia for six months to reassess the issuance processes of leases and permits.
The draft order reflects concerns about the impact on local industries and wildlife, highlighting potential disruptions to fishing, tourism, and the utility sector. Van Drew states that Trump views wind turbines as "horrible and expensive" and alleges that offshore projects might harm whales. Van Drew didn't show the exact draft, noting it's a preliminary guide that he expects Trump to edit. But he anticipates Trump will act on it quickly, potentially within his initial days in office.
The Biden administration had aimed to expand the US offshore wind capacity significantly to tackle climate change, setting ambitious targets of 30 gigawatts by 2030 and leveraging floating sites by 2035. Under this initiative, the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm began operating in March, and further projects have been approved to provide over 19 gigawatts of clean energy in total. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)
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