In a statement, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the funding was a waste of money “that could otherwise go towards revitalizing America’s maritime industry.” He added, “Thanks to President Trump, we are prioritizing real infrastructure improvements over fantasy wind projects that cost much and offer little.” This funding had been awarded under the administration of former President Joe Biden as part of a broader shift towards green energy.
Among the projects canceled was funding for The Humboldt Bay project, which was intended to be the first offshore wind terminal on the Pacific coast. A spokesperson for California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has emerged as a leading state opponent to Trump, criticized the action as an example of the administration “assaulting clean energy and infrastructure projects – hurting business and killing jobs in rural areas, and ceding our economic future to China.”
The cuts include a $47 million grant for an offshore wind logistics and manufacturing hub near the Port of Baltimore in Maryland, as well as $48 million awarded in 2022 for an offshore wind terminal project near New York’s Staten Island. Also cut was $33 million for a port project in Salem, Massachusetts, aimed at redeveloping a vacant industrial facility for offshore wind projects.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said in a statement that canceling the Salem grant will cost 800 construction workers their jobs. “The real waste here is the Trump administration canceling tens of millions of dollars for a project that is already under way to increase our energy supply,” she stated.
These latest reductions follow the Trump administration’s abrupt halt of construction on a nearly complete wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island and Connecticut. The Department of the Interior said the move was necessary to address national security concerns but did not provide further details. In early August, the Interior Department also canceled a major wind farm in Idaho that had been approved in the final days of Biden’s presidency.
Multiple federal agencies, including the Departments of Defense, Energy, and Commerce, are reviewing offshore wind farms along the Atlantic coast that were approved by the Biden administration.
Trump has consistently lashed out at green energy, and particularly wind power, calling it an unattractive and expensive form of energy that “smart” countries do not use. Yet, both foreign allies and rivals are increasingly embracing renewable energy in an effort to combat the effects of climate change. China, for example, has invested heavily in solar and wind energy and has become a leading source for wind turbine parts. Critics have argued that Trump’s approach will cause the US to fall behind its competitors.
Last week, as US electricity prices rose at more than twice the rate of inflation, Trump falsely blamed renewable power for the skyrocketing prices, labeling the industry a “scam.” On Tuesday, he pledged not to move forward with any new wind power projects. “We’re not allowing any windmills to go up unless there’s a legal situation where somebody committed to it a long time ago,” Trump said at a cabinet meeting.
