Trump Pauses Offshore Wind Leasing

On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that temporarily halts offshore wind energy lease sales in federal waters and pauses approvals, permits and loans for both offshore and onshore wind.

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During the pause, Department of Interior officials will review the environmental impact of both onshore and offshore wind projects on wildlife and consider the “economic costs associated with intermittent generation,” according to the executive order. In addition, Trump’s order instructs federal officials to review the “ecological, economic, and environmental necessity of terminating or amending any existing wind energy leases,” which could allow officials to reassess or revoke leases that have already been granted.

The U.S. has around 2.4 gigawatts (GW) of advanced-stage offshore wind developments which are unlikely to be impacted by the order, according to Rystad Energy. More than 20 projects are in various stages of permitting.

In New England, two offshore wind projects are either operating or under construction — Vineyard Wind and New England Wind — and would not be impacted by this order. These projects will produce 6.5 gigawatts when fully operational. Other planned developments, such as Beacon Wind and Vineyard Wind 2, will be on pause because they still require some federal approvals. The impact on other projects, such as SouthCoast Wind, is unclear.

The executive order also prevents those who have obtained leases in the Gulf of Maine from beginning the permitting process for floating wind turbine projects. Last summer the state of Maine received lease approval for a floating wind turbine research array in federal waters southeast of Portland. Chris Wissemann, CEO of Diamond Offshore Wind, the development partner with the University of Maine on the research array, said in a Portland Press Herald article that engineering, research and planning will extend beyond the end of Trump’s second term in January 2029. No federal action, he said, “is necessary or expected for the research array for more than five years.”

At the first offshore lease auction last October two international companies, Avangrid Renewables and Invenergy NE Offshore Wind, successfully purchased several leases in the Gulf. In the Portland Press Herald article an Avangrid spokesman said the company would not comment on how Trump’s executive order might affect the energy company’s project. An Invenergy spokeswoman said the company, with industry partners, is evaluating the executive orders. Andrew Price, president and CEO of Competitive Energy Services, a consulting group in Portland, said lease negotiations between the federal government and Avangrid and Invenergy will likely stall as long as the president’s executive order is in place.

Former President Joe Biden’s administration encouraged offshore wind development as part of the administration’s goal of creating 30 GW of offshore wind energy by 2030. During the past four years, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in the Department of Interior permitted 11 commercial-scale offshore wind energy projects, totaling 19 gigawatts of renewable energy.