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New England governors back wind energy as Trump escalates his attacks on industry
"We are looking for the Trump Administration to uphold all offshore wind permits already granted and allow these projects to be constructed."
As the Trump administration fights the growth of the offshore wind industry, Gov. Maura Healey is joining with four neighboring governors to demand that planned developments move forward.
“We reaffirm our unwavering support for working people and the unions that represent them. We stand with America’s workers and strongly urge the Trump Administration to keep these projects on track,” Healey, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee, and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said in a joint statement celebrating Labor Day.
Since his second term began, President Donald Trump has frequently taken aim at offshore wind. Some reporting has traced his dislike of the industry back to when a new development affected Scotland golf course. He has also erroneously claimed “the windmills are driving the whales crazy” while there are no known links between whale deaths and offshore wind activities.
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Early in his term, Trump signed an executive order to suspend new federal offshore wind leasing. States including Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, and New Jersey filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in May to challenge that order, and a judge denied Trump’s motion to dismiss the case in June.
The governors argued that the projects support American workers and unions, ensure the American economy leads in clean energy innovation, and keeps the electric grid affordable.
“We are looking for the Trump Administration to uphold all offshore wind permits already granted and allow these projects to be constructed,” the governors’ joint statement continued. “Efforts to walk back these commitments jeopardize hardworking families, wasting years of progress and ceding leadership to foreign competitors.”
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The White House is continuing to take more steps to thwart the industry, the New York Times reported Wednesday, bringing in government agencies not associated with wind energy into the effort.
The Trump administration halted the construction of the Revolution Wind project, a nearly completed wind development off the coast of Connecticut and Rhode Island. In Massachusetts, Trump is reportedly planning to reconsider a permit issued for the SouthCoast Wind development.
“Workers, businesses, and communities need certainty, not reversals that would cost tens of thousands of American jobs and critical investment,” the governors wrote. “Canceling projects that have already been fully permitted – including some near completion – sends the message to investors that the work can be stopped on a whim.”
New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte, the sole Republican governor in New England, signed a new state law to remove the mandate to support offshore wind development in her state, the New Hampshire Bulletin reported.
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