The Global Assessment of the Impact of Offshore Wind on Whales: Indirect Detection of Whale Deaths by Federally Permitted Energy Projects

Liz Burdock, president and CEO of the offshore energy trade group Oceantic Network, said in an email that stopping work on the fully federally permitted Empire Wind 1 offshore project should send chills to all industries that hold contracts with the United States Government. “Preventing a permitted and financed energy project from moving forward sends a loud and clear message to all businesses – beyond those in the offshore wind industry – that their investment in the US is not safe.”

President Donald Trump has painted offshore wind as an environmental bogeyman since he became President, claiming that there are no proof of whale deaths and promising to drill for oil and gas at the same time. The administration is trying to stop offshore wind farms from being built even though they have federal approvals.

Burgum wrote to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management that the previous administration rushed the approval for the offshore wind project without sufficient analysis.

The letter did not provide any information about the rush. The Interior Department did not respond to NPR’s request for comment. The idea that the review of this wind project was rushed is not supported by evidence, says Matthew Eisenson, senior fellow at Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law.

“BOEM spent two and a half years conducting an environmental review. The final product of that environmental review is an environmental impact statement that’s over 3000 pages long, with all of its appendices, and it’s very thorough,” Eisenson says. This rationale, it is very suspect.

Two years ago the GAO began looking into whether the offshore wind industry kills whales after Congressional opponents of wind energy requested the investigation. On Monday they issued their report. The GAO cites the expertise of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration which says it “does not anticipate any death or serious injury to whales from offshore wind related actions.”

“So there’s no universe in which the GAO report would be used to substantiate the stop work order for Empire Wind 1,” says Kris Ohleth, executive director of the Special Initiative on Offshore Wind, a wind policy think tank.

Wind Energy in the U.S. as a Key Player in the Clean-Energy Economy: New York Gov. Amy Eisenson’s Implications for Wind Energy

The US’s clean-energy industry is on track for a record year. Wind energy makes up about 10% of the U.S. electricity mix — the largest single source of renewable energy.

The Vineyard Wind 1 project in Massachusetts is one of the important new projects this year, but Ohleth says all the offshore wind projects are in jeopardy.

The lack of electricity supply to a region with increasing demands for power for things like data centers was disrupted by the cessation of Empire Wind 1. “ This is the kind of energy dominance that the U.S. needs. That the Trump administration should be supporting,” she says.

New York has a goal of developing 9,000 megawatts in offshore wind energy by 2035. Eisenson says that goal is at risk. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said that Burgum’s order could threaten 1,000 union worker jobs.

A senior science reporter has more than a decade of experience. She is also the host of Hell or High Water: When Disaster Hits Home , a podcast from Vox Media and Audible Originals.

The New York Wind Project: Why does Trump need the United States to stop Lending Carbon Pollution Free Electricity, breathe Better, and save more on electricity?

This month, construction began on Empire Wind, which Equinor claims had a gross book value of over 2.5 billion dollars. It was supposed to create enough carbon pollution-free electricity for 500,000 homes in New York. The construction employed 1,500 people. The project included a staging hub at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal that was expected to create over 1,000 union construction jobs.

Bonnie Brady, executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, said in a New York Post opinion piece that the ocean was industrialization and was delivered by a foreign-owned corporation.

“If Trump had any ounce of compassion or care for the American people, he would be bolstering renewable energy projects like Empire that create stable jobs, allow families to breathe easier, and save more on electricity,” Sierra Club deputy legislative director for clean energy and electrification Xavier Boatright said in an emailed statement. Trump prioritized Big Fossil Fuel and made Americans pay the price.

The oil and gas interests spent over $75 million to get Trump elected. In January, Trump claimed “no new windmills” would be built while he’s in office, saying they “litter” the US like “garbage in a field.”