Offshore wind is a big deal for clean energy, but Trump’s not a fan. He’s been vocal about wanting to end the offshore wind industry. He believes in boosting fossil fuels instead, claiming it’ll give the U.S. the cheapest energy around.
Van Drew had a chat with Trump about a month ago. He pushed Trump to act on his promise to halt these wind projects. Trump agreed and told him to draft an order. Van Drew quickly sent a draft to Trump’s pick for interior secretary, Doug Burgum.
The draft aims to pause offshore wind development from Rhode Island to Virginia for six months. This would give the new interior secretary time to review the permits and leases. Van Drew thinks the approvals didn’t consider the fishing industry, tourism, or even utility bills for Americans.
Burgum recently had his confirmation hearing, and he knows a thing or two about wind power since North Dakota gets a lot of its energy from it. He was asked to convince Trump that wind power isn’t all bad.
Burgum mentioned that the electric grid needs reliable power sources, not just the intermittent ones like wind and solar. He said he’d look into the ongoing offshore wind projects and continue them if they make sense.
Van Drew didn’t show the draft order to the press, but he thinks Trump will use it as a starting point. He expects an executive order soon, maybe even on Trump’s first day in office.
Trump has made it clear he thinks wind turbines are costly and has made claims about them harming whales. His team recently shared his comments about wanting a policy to stop windmill construction altogether.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration has been pushing for offshore wind to tackle climate change. They set ambitious goals to generate a lot of electricity from offshore wind by 2030 and 2035.
The first commercial offshore wind farm opened recently, and there are several projects in the works that could power millions of homes. It’s a busy time for energy in the U.S., and this new order could shake things up.