President-elect Donald Trump has enlisted New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a vocal opponent of offshore wind energy, to draft an executive order aimed at halting wind projects along the East Coast.
Trump, who has pledged to dismantle the offshore wind industry as part of his energy agenda, seeks to promote fossil fuel production to achieve what he claims would be the world’s lowest energy costs. Offshore wind, a key component of transitioning to clean energy, is central to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, with the power sector accounting for nearly a third of the nation’s carbon footprint.
Van Drew revealed he spoke with Trump about a month ago and urged him to act. “I said, ‘Mr. President, we need to move on this.’ He said, ‘Write an executive order, get it to my people,’” Van Drew recounted.
The draft order, sent to Doug Burgum, Trump’s pick for interior secretary, proposes a six-month pause on offshore wind development from Rhode Island to Virginia. Van Drew argues that previous approvals failed to fully consider impacts on fishing, tourism, and marine life, or the reliance on foreign companies to build the projects.
The Biden administration had set ambitious targets for offshore wind, aiming for 30 gigawatts of capacity by 2030 to power over 10 million homes. Trump, however, has dismissed wind turbines as “horrible and expensive,” repeating debunked claims about their threat to marine wildlife.
The proposed pause marks the first step in what Van Drew hopes will become a long-term moratorium on offshore wind development.