Trumps tasks congressman with writing executive order he could issue to halt offshore wind
President-elect Donald Trump commissioned a New Jersey congressman vocal critic of offshore wind writing an executive order he could issue to halt wind energy projects.
Offshore wind energy is an important part of the transition to an electricity grid powered entirely by sources that do not emit carbon dioxide when generating electricity. The energy sector is responsible for almost a third of the greenhouse gas emissions that warm the planet. On the campaign trail, Trump promised to end the offshore wind industry as soon as he returned to the White House. He wants to boost production of fossil fuels like oil, natural gas and coal, which cause climate change, so the U.S. can have the cheapest energy and electricity of any country in the world, he says.
Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew said he spoke to Trump by phone about a month ago and urged him to keep his campaign promise.
“I said, ‘Mr. President, we have to move forward with this.” He said, ‘Yes, we certainly do. I agree. I’m against them.'” Van Drew said. “He said, ‘Write an executive order and take it to my people.'”
Van Drew told the Associated Press on Wednesday evening that he quickly emailed a draft order to Doug BurgumTrump’s choice to become Secretary of the Interior. Van Drew said the draft was written to halt offshore wind development from Rhode Island to Virginia for six months so the incoming Secretary of the Interior could review how leases and permits were issued. Van Drew said he believes the approvals did not fully take into account the impact on the fishing industry, tourism, whales or Americans’ energy bills, and that relying on foreign renewable energy companies to provide the build wind farms.
The Department of the Interior includes the agency responsible for offshore renewable energy development in federal waters, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Burgum is is scheduled to appear before a Senate committee on Thursday for a confirmation hearing.
Van Drew declined to show the order to the AP, saying he doesn’t expect Trump to use his draft literally; it’s a template. He expects Trump to issue an executive order on offshore wind within the first quarter of the year, possibly on his first day in office. Van Drew said he sees this as a first step toward an eventual moratorium on offshore wind development.
Trump says wind turbines are terrible and expensive. He repeats unsubstantiated claims about offshore wind threatens whales. His transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
The Biden administration has made efforts to advance the nascent U.S. offshore wind industry and address climate change as an existential threat. It set targets to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy generate enough electricity to power more than 10 million homes by 2030, and up to 15 gigawatts of electricity through floating locations by 2035enough to power 5 million households.
The country’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm opened in Marcha 12-turbine wind farm called South Fork Wind, 35 miles east of Montauk Point, New York.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management held the first ever rental sales for the west coast And the Gulf of Mexicoand the first commercial sales for floating offshore wind energy on the Atlantic coast. It approved the country’s 11th commercial-scale offshore wind project in December. Combined, the eleven projects will generate a total of more than 19 gigawatts of clean energy, enough to power more than 6 million households.
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