Trump Just Killed 5 Offshore Wind Projects and Thousands of Jobs With One Move
Look, Im not gonna sugarcoat this one. The Trump administration just pulled the plug on five major offshore wind projects yesterday and the timing couldnt be more brutal.
Right before Christmas. Thousands of workers. Billions in investment. Gone. Well, “paused” if you believe the official line.
What Actually Happened
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced the lease suspensions Monday morning, claiming national security concerns identified by the Pentagon. The five projects getting the axe include Vineyard Wind off Massachusetts, Revolution Wind serving Rhode Island and Connecticut, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (the biggest one in the country), plus Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind off New York.
Heres the kicker – Vineyard Wind is already pumping power to the grid. Like, right now. Half of New Englands renewable energy yesterday came from that one project according to ISO-New England. So were shutting down something thats literally working?
The National Security Excuse
The official story is radar interference. Wind turbines create “clutter” that messes with military systems supposedly. NPR reports that a former USS Cole commander disputed this whole argument, pointing out these projects went through years of review by the Coast Guard, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Air Force and more.
A 2022 National Academy of Sciences report found the risk is real but “manageable.” And the Department of Defense literally sent a letter to one of these developers last December saying no adverse impacts. So which is it?
Following the Money
Danish energy firm Orsted owns two of these projects. Their stock dropped 11% on the news. Dominion Energy, running the Virginia project, took a 4% hit. Were talking billions in shareholder value evaporating because of a press release.
The administration previously tried stopping these projects via executive order. A federal judge struck that down two weeks ago calling it unlawful. So now theyre trying the national security angle instead.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong called it a “lawless and erratic stop-work order.” Hes not wrong.
The Bigger Picture
These projects were supposed to power hundreds of thousands of homes across the Northeast. Massachusetts climate commitments? Basically toast now. Energy prices for regular folks in these states? Probably going up.
One natural gas pipeline might supply equivalent energy as Burgum claims. But thats kinda missing the point about why we were building wind in the first place isnt it?
The uncertainty around business investment in this sector just became a whole lot more uncertain.
This aint about security. This is about killing an industry one excuse at a time.
