Tag Archives: offshore wind farms
Trump Administration Lifts Stop Work Order on $5B Empire Wind Project
The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has lifted the stop work order on the Empire Wind project, allowing construction activities to resume after a month-long suspension. The $5 billion Empire Wind 1 project, designed to power 500,000 New York homes by 2027, represents a significant milestone in the U.S. renewable energy sector. The project, which began construction in 2024 and is currently more than 30% complete, faced a temporary setback when BOEM ordered an immediate cessation of activities on April 16, 2025. Empire Wind also includes a potential second phase with a collective generating capacity of approximately 2.1 gigawatts. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:58
EPIC Comes Out in Favor of ‘Responsible’ Offshore Wind Development, Joins States in Legal Effort to Overturn Trump’s Offshore Wind Ban
A couple of weeks ago, a whole bunch of states and a wind power industry group filed suit against the Trump administration, seeking to overturn an executive order banning new offshore wind power development. This week, at the states’ request, a large group of environmental organizations — including the Arcata-based Environmental Protection Information Center — filed an amicus curae brief in support of the suit. The argue that Trump’s executive order was “arbitary and unlawful,” that wind power is a “critical and growing” source of green energy, and that offshore wind’s supposed threat to wildlife — specifically whales and birds — are “unexplained and unsubstantiated.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:08
Massachusetts green tech leaders won’t back down on offshore wind
Massachusetts green tech advocates want offshore wind to be the little clean power source that could in the face of hostility from the Trump administration, according to their comments during a panel on the blue economy at the ClimaTech conference earlier this week. In addition to discussions about the state’s ocean clean tech market and port infrastructure, panel attendees addressed the wind-turbine-shaped elephant in the room: the fact that President Trump withdrew seven major offshore wind leases via an executive order in January. Two of the leases affected are for projects that would have been constructed off the coast of Massachusetts, for which the state is suing the Trump administration. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:55
Taking A Deeper Dive into the Proposed Agreement Between US Wind and Maryland
On Wednesday, we reported about a proposed $20 million investment from US Wind to support the local fishing community. Another development from that news is the offshore wind company’s plans for two properties in the West Ocean City Harbor. For months, critics have argued that US Wind’s plans to buy the two fish houses in West Ocean City Harbor would decimate the commercial fishing industry. Wednesday’s announcement, however, paints the proposed project in a different light. “Our proposal is to purchase one of the two properties that we had under contract, under option contract in the past,” said Ben Cooper, Director of Marine Affairs at US Wind. Meaning, one of the two fish houses would stay open. more, >>CLICK TO READ<<18:28
US Wind proposes $20M deal to aid fishermen amid offshore wind plans
Offshore wind developer US Wind has announced a proposed $20 million investment to support commercial fishing operations in Maryland and Delaware, as part of agreements with each state’s environmental agencies. The memoranda of understanding with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control aim to address concerns from the local fishing industry as offshore wind development takes place off the coast. “This proposal, one of the biggest investments in commercial fishing in the region, demonstrates our commitment to the fishing industry and the local community in which we’ll operate,” said Jeffrey Grybowski, US Wind CEO. “The funding will provide direct support to commercial and charter fishermen, grants for local businesses, and support for harbor maintenance and infrastructure. We’re looking forward to continuing our work with local fishermen and the states of Maryland and Delaware to finalize this unprecedented agreement.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:56
Video: Commercial fishermen thank Trump for protecting oceans from wind turbines
Seafood lovers depend on our hardworking commercial fishermen for our supply of fresh local seafood. That industry, and our seafood supply, has been under threat from the climate grifters pushing offshore wind turbines. Not only does industrializing our oceans with these structures greatly increase the cost of electricity to consumers and kill wildlife like seabirds and whales, but it threatened to put commercial fishermen out of business. The Trump administration has ridden to the rescue with a number of actions to block this destructive offshore wind boondoggle. Commercial fishermen are expressing their gratitude to President Trump for saving their industry and their jobs from the climate kook left. Links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:01
Maine lobstermen remain mighty political force despite shrinking numbers
Maine lobstermen, who once held more than 7,000 commercial fishing licenses, now number about half that many who actively catch lobster. The decline has occurred since the late 1990s as Maine’s commercial fishing industry, which is dominated by lobstermen, faces increasing challenges in the form of climate change, increased regulation and competition for space in the Gulf of Maine. While the drop has been gradual, its effects could be far-reaching, given lobstermen’s central role in Maine’s coastal economy and their political might in both Augusta and Washington D.C. On the local level, declining numbers of lobstermen could take away a key economic support for Maine towns and businesses that rely on the fishery. Photos, links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:49
Local Stakeholders Explore Next Steps for Offshore Wind Despite ‘Significant Uncertainties’ Posed by Trump Administration
Despite federal pushback and industry uncertainty, Humboldt County officials and international developers are moving forward with plans to bring floating offshore wind facilities to the North Coast. This week, the county’s Economic Development Division hosted a renewable energy conference,,, in Loleta to discuss the future of commercial-scale offshore wind development in California and how to navigate potential hurdles imposed by the Trump administration. “There are significant uncertainties created by the federal government in this moment. That’s why discussion is so important,” said Jana Ganion, senior offshore wind advisor for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Office. “We deal with adversity; we ride through it, and we are stronger at the end of it. So when we talk about pathways and partnerships, we know that in this moment these things are recalculating.” Links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:28
Ocean City leaders push for offshore wind moratorium in Washington visit
A delegation of Ocean City leaders traveled to Washington, D.C. on April 30 to call for a halt to federal activity that would allow construction of offshore wind farms off the Maryland coast. Led by Mayor Rick Meehan, the group included Maryland State Senator Mary Beth Carozza, Worcester County Commissioner Joe Mitrecic, Town Manager Terry McGean, and local hotel operator Adam Showell Jr. The delegation met with U.S. Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Brett Guthrie of Kentucky and shared their concerns about the potential impacts of offshore wind development. Mayor Meehan outlined concerns that offshore wind farms could harm Ocean City’s tourism economy, disrupt commercial fishing, damage marine ecosystems, and interfere with marine traffic and military radar operations. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:42
States sue Trump administration for blocking the development of wind energy
A coalition of state attorneys general filed a lawsuit Monday against President Donald Trump’s attempt to stop the development of wind energy. Attorneys general from 17 states and Washington, D.C., are challenging an executive order Trump signed during his first day in office, pausing approvals, permits and loans for all wind energy projects both onshore and offshore. They say Trump doesn’t have the authority to unilaterally shut down the permitting process, and he’s jeopardizing development of a power source critical to the states’ economic vitality, energy mix, public health and climate goals. White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said Democratic attorneys general are “using lawfare to stop the president’s popular energy agenda,” instead of working with him to unleash American energy and lower prices for families. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16:48
Fishermen v Big Wind: A David and Goliath story
Commercial fishing is a tiny contributor to the UK economy. In 2023, UK vessels landed approximately 719,000 tonnes of sea fish with a value of £1.1 billion. It amounts to around 0.03% of total economic output and around 5% of the broader agriculture, forestry and fishing sector. Compare this with UK offshore wind, with its 15 GW of installed capacity and current GVA per GW installed of around £1.8 billion and rising. David is small, semi-nomadic and works across a vast sea area; Goliath is massive and growing rapidly. Whilst Big Wind occupies clearly defined areas, it overlaps massively into traditional fishing grounds and is becoming a major UK employer. The fishing industry eventually learned to live with Big Oil, which is now on the wane, but living with territory-guzzling offshore wind farms – fixed and floating – may prove a lot more challenging. Fishing feels threatened. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:45
Atlantic wind power industry suffers blow from U.S. decision
Patrick Brannon is still bullish on the economic potential for Nova Scotia from offshore wind power, in spite of American backtracking that will delay things. Brannon, senior researcher for the Atlantic Economic Council, authored its latest report in its net-zero series that concluded that “wind development, particularly offshore wind, presents the biggest economic opportunity for the Atlantic region out of all existing clean technologies.” But in the wake of the Trump administration kneecapping the burgeoning U.S. offshore wind industry last week by issuing a stop-work order to Norwegian company Equinor, which had invested $2 billion in a wind project off the coast of New York, things look different. Links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:07
Offshore wind sparks debate over whale deaths on the East Coast
As offshore wind turbines rise from the waters off the Northeast coast, so do questions about their impact beneath the surface. In Southern New England, offshore wind turbines first went up in 2016 off Block Island. A year later, the National Marine Fisheries Service declared an Unusual Mortality Event for humpback whales along the Atlantic Coast as whale deaths surged from Maine to Florida. Numbers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, show 28 dead whales washed ashore in Rhode Island and Massachusetts combined last year, compared to 16 in 2023, two in 2022, and 18 in 2021. Video, photos, links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:45
RWE boss confirms US offshore wind activity at an end
The chief executive of RWE, one of the largest developers of offshore wind in the world, has confirmed it has ceased developing offshore windfarms in the US. The company is continuing, cautiously, with other American renewable energy projects, but will not continue with offshore wind because of the Trump administration’s antipathy towards offshore wind energy. In a speech released in advance of the company’s 30 April 2025 Annual General Meeting, chief executive Markus Krebber told shareholders that although the company’s American onshore wind, solar energy and battery storage projects have so far been developing “very dynamically,” the company has stopped offshore activities “for the time being.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:09
Major Offshore Wind Developer has Stopped Activities in United States
One of the world’s top offshore wind developers, Germany’s RWE, has stopped work on its U.S. projects for now in light of recent moves against the industry by the Trump administration, its CEO said in a text published ahead of the firm’s annual meeting. The comments by Markus Krebber are a heavy blow to the nascent U.S. offshore wind market, which was a key pillar of former U.S. President Joe Biden’s energy policy but which his successor Donald Trump has vowed to stop. RWE holds three offshore wind leases in U.S. waters off the coasts of New York, Louisiana and California. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:27
Will offshore wind ever come to the Great Lakes?
Wind turbines in the Great Lakes have the potential to produce huge amounts of clean energy in one of the most populated regions in North America. But offshore wind has been banned by a moratorium in Ontario since 2011 and faces headwinds in the U.S. Still, the Ontario Clean Air Alliance thinks it’s time to reconsider, arguing offshore wind could end the province’s reliance on natural gas imports from the U.S. for its gas-powered generators at a time when the U.S. threatens Canada with punishing tariffs and talk of annexation. “Given that we’re in a sovereignty crisis and affordability crisis and a climate crisis,” said Jack Gibbons, the group’s chair, “this is a solution that can address all three of those crises and we should just be moving forward as quickly as possible.” Videos, photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:20
The bid to kill Empire Wind is Trump’s biggest swipe at offshore wind yet
On Wednesday afternoon, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to halt construction on Equinor’s Empire Wind project off the New York coast. It’s a new frontier for President Donald Trump’s war on offshore wind, marking the first time his administration has attempted to shut down a fully permitted, in-construction project. When construction began just a few weeks ago, Equinor didn’t create a spectacle. The company didn’t issue a press release, hold a ribbon cutting, or even respond to multiple requests for comment from Canary Media’s Clare Fieseler. Hillary Bright, executive director of offshore wind advocacy group Turn Forward, offered an explanation to Canary: “It’s about not wanting to stick their heads up and drawing more attention, potentially, from the administration.” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul immediately decried the Interior Department’s move as “federal overreach,” saying in a statement that she “will fight this every step of the way to protect union jobs, affordable energy and New York’s economic future.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:33
Nextdoor New Hampshire May Offer Useful Example for Maine When It Comes to Offshore Wind Power
New Hampshire’s proposed ban on offshore wind development proves the state’s loyalty to its coastal communities and the working men and women of the New England fisheries. New Hampshire’s state Senate will soon take up HB 682, a measure that reorganizes or closes state offices backing the offshore wind buildout in the Gulf of Maine, a region vital to Maine’s economy. My organization, the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association, supports this legislation because industrializing the sea will jeopardize our fishing fleets and maritime character. It is rare to see an unreservedly pro-fisheries bill like HB 682. We fishermen are usually forced to negotiate the terms of our decline. We haggle over cuts to quota, over area closures, over timelines for new regulatory regimes, but seldom get the chance to enact measures protecting and promoting our industry for the future. Banning offshore wind will preserve our marine ecosystems, and the working people who depend on them. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:42
Fishermen, scientists differ on whale mortality, wind energy
At first glance, the stretch of coast near the Bennett Street beach access point in Kitty Hawk blends seamlessly with the rest of the coastline. It’s impossible to tell that, just a few months ago, this sand cradled the lifeless, 19,000-pound carcass of a humpback whale. North Carolina coastal communities are actively debating the cause of the increase in whale mortalities, with concerns surrounding political agendas at the heart of the discussion. Marine scientists have identified human interaction with ships as the leading cause of these whale mortalities, causing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to attempt tightening vessel speed restrictions. Fishermen have largely opposed stricter regulations, blaming numerous economic struggles on what they see as a mountain of NOAA rules. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:50
Government watchdog study finds some problems – and much uncertainty – in offshore wind industry
A study on offshore wind development by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) – one that’s been nearly two years in the making – was at last released today, and it identifies a number of potential problems with the industry but few concrete answers. The 68-page report acknowledges that building massive wind turbines off America’s coastline, including along the Jersey Shore, could have a variety of impacts on commercial fishing, marine ecosystems, defense radar systems, and local communities. But it also stresses how much is still uncertain about what’s still a relatively new industry. “Development and operation of offshore wind energy facilities could affect marine life and ecosystems, including through acoustic disturbance and changes to marine habitats,” the GAO report declares in its introduction. “Wind development could bring jobs and investment to communities. At the same time, it could disrupt commercial fishing to varying degrees. Turbines could also affect radar system performance, alter search and rescue methods, and alter historic and cultural landscapes.” Links. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 18:36
“A MAN IS ONLY AS GOOD AS HIS WORD” By Jim Lovgren
When Donald Trump ran for election in 2024, to recapture the Presidency that he lost in the 2020 elections, many people voted for him because he promised to stop offshore wind projects on day one. We are still waiting. Granted, he promised to also end the Ukraine war on day one, but people are still dying there every day. Politicians say many things when they are running for office, and voters must distinguish between reality and fantasy regarding a politician’s promises. In the case of the Ukraine war, I think everybody took Donald’s “end the Ukraine war on day one”, with a grain of salt, as this war is complex in its causes, participants, and the interwoven economic and international politics’ driving it. We can forgive him for his campaign bluster. When it comes to his promise to end offshore wind on day one, well that’s another story. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:55
Save LBI Petitions Federal Agencies to Create a Safe Migration Corridor from Georgia to Maine to Save the North Atlantic Right Whale from Extinction
Save LBI, the non-partisan organization dedicated to protecting our oceans from the destructive impacts of offshore wind projects, has filed a petition urging the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC)/National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and Department of the Interior (DOI)/Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to create a safe migration corridor from Maine to Georgia that will allow the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale (NARW) to survive as a species. With a population that has dwindled to 340, the magnificent right whale is perilously close to extinction and faces a new, greater and ominous threat from numerous proposed offshore wind-turbine complexes up and down the East Coast. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:55
Developer halts negotiations for Gulf of Maine floating wind farm. Here’s why.
Three years after they began, negotiations over a proposed power contract for an offshore floating wind farm in the Gulf of Maine have come to an abrupt halt, with the developer citing “recent shifts in the energy landscape that have in particular caused uncertainty in the offshore wind industry.” In a March 28 filing at the Public Utilities Commission, the PUC staff explained that Pine Tree Offshore Wind LLC has requested that the talks be temporarily suspended. When asked specifically why it was putting talks on hold, Pine Tree Offshore Wind declined to comment and referred questions to the GEO. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:28
Anti-offshore wind fishing group backed by right-wing money eyes support from Maine towns
Since its founding three years ago, the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association has been a vocal opponent of offshore wind and relied on funding from a right-wing advocacy group connected to one of the most influential conservative activists in the U.S. Now, the fishermen’s organization known as NEFSA is looking to diversify its revenue sources by asking coastal communities in Maine for financial support. Jerry Leeman is the founder and CEO of NEFSA. And for the past three years he’s been the star of an advocacy campaign that’s led him up and down the northeast coast to preach against offshore wind. Leeman and NEFSA have been making some noise. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:23
Hopes for Offshore Wind Are Blowing Away
Welders are hard at work at the Paulsboro Marine Terminal, four years after New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced a $250 million investment from offshore wind energy companies in a new manufacturing facility. But instead of putting together massive monopiles to prop up wind turbines off the Jersey Shore, they’re taking them apart to sell for scrap. In 2023, Ørsted, a Danish wind developer, announced it was pulling out of two planned wind projects that would have provided about 2,200 megawatts of energy to New Jersey. Earlier this year, Shell announced it was canceling a $1 billion investment in another offshore wind project in the state. A few days later, Murphy announced that his administration wouldn’t put any more state money into offshore wind. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:28
The offshore wind debate could influence this federal election and it’s already an ‘absolute blood-fest’
“Get out of our town, Albo!” the man yelled. “We don’t want your wind farms!”
The Illawarra, on the NSW south coast, can be hostile territory for Australian politicians. In 1939, Robert Menzies was booed by thousands of placard-waving locals as police escorted him down the Bulli Pass to meet striking waterside workers in Wollongong. Fast forward to 2025 and it was Anthony Albanese’s turn to feel the heat down near the steelworks. During a February press conference announcing his new candidate for Whitlam, he copped a gobful from a man dressed in a tan shirt and black shorts. “Get out of our town, Albo!” the man yelled. “We don’t want your wind farms!” That protester was financial adviser Alex O’Brien, who is not just another local resident. Mr. O’Brien is, in fact, president of a not-for-profit association called Responsible Future (Illawarra Chapter) or RFI, whose purpose is to tank Labor’s proposed offshore wind project in the Illawarra. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:53
NOAA Hired an Anti-Wind Activist as Its Top Lawyer
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has hired a new general counsel who was, until recently, pursuing legal challenges to offshore wind farms on behalf of the fishing industry, Heatmap has learned. NOAA’s Fisheries division, also known as the National Marine Fisheries Service, regulates species protection within U.S. waters. Activists have sought to persuade the Trump administration to review the division’s previous and future approvals for offshore wind projects that interact with endangered marine life, which would be a huge win for the “wind kills whales” movement. Enter Anne “Annie” Hawkins, NOAA’s new general counsel, who comes to the agency after serving for years as the executive director of the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, an organization founded in 2017 that has fought offshore wind projects on behalf of the fishing industry. Hawkins stepped down as RODA’s executive director last fall, shortly after Trump won the presidential election. Links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:22
Nantucket officials, group challenge 3 offshore wind projects
On Thursday, the town sued the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, requesting that the government “set aside” its record of decision approving SouthCoast Wind. Nantucket wants the government to restart its environmental review — a process that took more than three years to complete and culminated in key permits allowing the project to move forward with construction. Meanwhile, the Nantucket-based ACK for Whales (formerly known as Nantucket Residents Against Turbines) is asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to rescind permits it granted to Vineyard Wind and New England Wind to construct and operate their offshore wind farms. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:37
Collapse of Germany’s offshore wind subsidies a cautionary tale for Canada
It’s an ill wind that blows nobody good. And in Germany, it might be better if the wind didn’t blow at all after the European Union member moved to start dismantling its flagship Alpha Ventus project after just 15 years. Despite its role as a pioneering wind farm, Alpha Ventus is being shut down — not because of technological failure, but because it is no longer financially viable without massive government subsidies. For Canada, which hopes to use offshore wind to support industries like green hydrogen production, the German experience raises critical questions about the long-term economics of offshore wind power. Without sustained financial support, will Canada’s ambitious offshore wind plans suffer the same fate? Germany has long been a global leader and pioneer in renewable energy. Alpha Ventus was built in 2009 as its first offshore wind farm, benefiting from generous state subsidies. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:44
Metal inputs from offshore wind farms could pose environmental, economic and human health risks
Large offshore wind turbines are made primarily of steel. When exposed to salt water, steel corrodes over time, leading to structural damage. To prevent this, offshore wind farm developers use corrosion protection systems. One of the most common methods involves attaching sacrificial anodes to the turbines. These metal blocks, mainly composed of aluminium, zinc and indium, dissolve into the seawater to protect the steel structure. The research team at the University of Portsmouth set out to quantify how much metal is being released from corrosion protection systems used in European offshore wind farms. Their findings suggest that the accumulation of these metals in the ocean could have long-term consequences for marine ecosystems, with particular concern over the potential to enter food chains. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:40
