U.S. Offshore Wind Prospects Diminished by Trump Administration, Says Interior Chief

The future of harnessing offshore wind for electricity in the United States remains bleak under the Trump administration, according to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. His remarks were made this week at a Milan energy event.

"Under the current regime, offshore wind lacks viability due to prohibitive costs and inconsistent reliability," Burgum explained during his speech at the Gastech conference on Wednesday.

Burgum’s statement is the clearest yet from a high-level Trump administration figure, indicating President Donald Trump's intention to dismantle the burgeoning U.S. offshore wind sector. As the head of the Department of the Interior, Burgum oversees the approval and leasing process for offshore wind installations in federal waters.

On his inauguration day, Trump issued an executive directive meant to be "temporary," but which has nonetheless put the brakes on the entire industry. Although there was an industry expectation that projects already underway would be allowed to proceed, a detailed review of permits was ordered.

Currently, the Department of the Interior is taking a meticulous examination of five offshore wind ventures, which are already in development stages across the country; however, Burgum did not specify the projects.

The identified offshore wind projects include Revolution Wind near Rhode Island, Vineyard Wind 1 by Massachusetts, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, alongside Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind in New York.

"Yes, they did receive approval, but it was expedited through a rapid, ideologically-driven permitting framework," commented Burgum in Italy.

Orsted, a Danish renewable company, was directed by Interior to halt activities on Revolution Wind as of August 22, citing concerns over national security. Despite being 80% finalized with significant investments already made, its progress stopped.

Although Empire Wind faced an initial stop-work mandate from Interior in April, operations resumed in May following a new agreement regarding increased natural gas capacity.

Burgum informed CNBC that ongoing conversations are taking place with Orsted and governors in New England pertaining to Revolution Wind, though he provided no assurances regarding a potential restart.

"Certainty cannot be assured, as some of these ventures pose severe economic challenges," Burgum mentioned to CNBC. "Completing them could mean indebting taxpayers for massive costs that might ultimately be tied up in hedge funds."

An August statement to CNBC warned that the administration’s targeting of solar and wind initiatives could result in a power dilemma, pushing electricity rates upwards.