Trump order puts Delaware offshore wind in the crosshairs

President Donald Trump may have dealt a significant blow to efforts to build wind farms off the coast of Delaware. | PHOTO COURTESY OF MATT ARTZ on UNSPLASH
President Donald Trump signed an executive order hours into his presidency Monday that will freeze offshore wind production on America’s coastlines. One project off the Delmarva coastline has been under local scrutiny for months, and could be imperiled.
US Wind, a subsidiary of Italian energy infrastructure firm Renexia SpA, has faced an uphill battle to get local support for its massive power plant 15 miles off the coast of Ocean City, Md.
Spotlight Delaware reported on a local opposition group funded by a Maryland county that’s railed against the 100 proposed wind turbines off its coast. Now with a presidential decree behind them, development of the wind farm looks grim.
What’s in the order?
The order, signed soon after Trump took office, puts a temporary freeze on new wind energy leases for offshore projects, going into effect on Tuesday.
For projects that already have leases, they will be reviewed by the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Attorney General to find “the ecological, economic and environmental necessity of terminating or amending any existing wind energy leases.”
Notably, the order only applies to wind farms.
“This withdrawal does not apply to leasing related to any other purposes such as, but not limited to, oil, gas, minerals, and environmental conservation,” the order said.
Trump’s order would review the current permitting process for offshore wind farms and block any sort of further approvals for projects until a review is completed by multiple federal agencies.
It also allows the attorney general to “request that the court stay the litigation or otherwise delay further litigation, or seek other appropriate relief” related to current offshore wind farm lawsuits.
Reactions to the order
When reached for comment, US Wind said it would work with the Trump administration to meet the country’s energy needs.
“US Wind’s projects are poised to deliver on the president’s promise of achieving American energy dominance, especially now that we have received all of our federal permits,” said Nancy Sopko, US Wind’s vice president of external affairs.
Moreover, US Wind said it believes the project would help meet the region’s “unquenchable thirst” for new power and support “good American jobs.”
David Stevenson, director of the Caesar Rodney Institute, a conservative Delaware public policy think tank, has been a vocal opponent of the US Wind project.
When asked about the order, Stevenson stressed that the order puts a temporary halt on permit approvals and sends approved permits in for review. He said he would want to see the US Wind permit revoked should it not meet the standards of the federal review.
“I think it would be the correct outcome,” Stevenson said.
When it comes to meeting a 2050 “net zero” emissions goal set by the state, he said offshore wind was one of the most expensive and “environmentally damaging” options, and the state should consider other options.
According to Stevenson, the state could pursue more nuclear energy or onshore wind farms. But what Stevenson said he’s seeing is European developers leave the market, and he expects to see more flee.
Danish wind farm developer Ørsted announced a $1 billion financial impairment related to leasing costs on another proposed offshore wind farm in New York on the same day Trump signed the order.
It also canceled an additional wind farm off the coast of New Jersey in 2023.
Additionally, another Italian firm, the Prysmian Group, pulled out of a proposed $300 million cable manufacturing plant in Somerset, Mass.
How could it impact Delaware?
Delaware recently signed a 25-year agreement with US Wind which the state valued at more than $253 million over 20 years. In the agreement, US Wind agreed to invest $200 million into Delaware’s power grid and an additional $76 million in renewable energy credits.
Trump’s order could also bring another proposed wind farm off the coast of Rehoboth Beach to a standstill. Ørsted intends to build up to 72 wind turbines about 16 miles off the coast, but that project was pending review from the feds, meaning it’s likely included in the chill.
Energy needs have soared in recent years, but some have said the state lacks adequate supply. Attempts to stymie US Wind projects have been decried by the developer, as well as local environmental groups.
When the Sussex County Council voted to deny US Wind a key permit for its project, the Sierra Club of Delaware said the council was playing “political games” with the state’s energy.
“While politicians raise unfounded concerns about adding more electric technology to our homes and power grid, they move forward with denying our state’s ability to strengthen that same grid and bring clean power onto the Delmarva Peninsula,” Dustyn Thompson, the Sierra Club chapter director, said at the time.
Delaware also has a statutory obligation to bring emissions to “net zero” by 2050, but with the wind farm at risk, that goal could be harder to achieve.
At the same time, the First State does not produce much energy, and often buys its supply from outside states. One key facility it kept open as a failsafe will close in February.
The Indian River Power Plant, which is located right next to where US Wind wanted to build a substation for its project, will shut down nearly two years ahead of its initial decommission date.
In a press release from the Sierra Club after the executive order, Thompson said new offshore wind could have benefitted the region. The release said halting offshore wind kills 77,000 possible jobs.
The release also said monthly energy costs would rise and exacerbate supply issues in Delaware.
“The energy crisis is being caused by actions like those of President Trump yesterday and his followers here in Delaware over the past few weeks, shutting down responsible, clean energy development all across our region,” Thompson said.
