US president Donald Trump is continuing his war on offshore wind by making the temporary halt to development of offshore wind farms off the state of New Jersey permanent.
Reports from several news agencies, including Reuters, have surfaced claiming that Trump revealed this during a campaign phone call with Jack Ciattarelli, a candidate for governor of New Jersey.
This is in stark contrast to incumbent New Jersey governor Phil Murphy, who made a goal of installing 11GW by 2040, due to the state’s excellent wind conditions.
Sitting Democratic governors from New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island have already asked Trump not to tamper with permits for offshore wind projects in these states via a joint statement at the beginning of September.
Trump has been on a tear against offshore wind and even suspended new federal offshore wind leasing pending an environmental and economic review. This was followed by stop orders for both Ørsted’s Rhode Island offshore wind development and Equinor’s New York project.
Both projects have continued with development after the administration lifted one, and a federal judge reversed the other.
