President Trump’s executive order freezes future offshore wind leasing, but its impact on existing leases remains to be determined. 

Trump has a longstanding animosity toward wind turbines, particularly in the ocean, and he had said repeatedly he would issue a ban. On Jan. 20, just hours after his inauguration, he halted onshore and offshore wind power leasing and permitting and ordered a review of the government’s processes for both. 

The order does not affect existing wind leases, but it sets up potential challenges by directing “a comprehensive review of the ecological, economic and environmental necessity of terminating or amending any existing wind energy leases, identifying any legal bases for such removal.” 

The wind power industry and its advocates were left with more questions than answers Jan. 21. 

“It is too soon in the process to determine what impact, if any, federal actions might have on New York reaching its ambitious renewable energy targets,” a spokesperson for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority said. 

Offshore wind is a key part of New York’s decarbonization strategy, and NYSERDA is charged with contracting 9 GW of capacity to be online by 2035. 

Empire Wind 1 is among the state’s contracted projects, and Equinor is ramping up preparations to build the project. 

A spokesperson on Jan. 21 took the same tack as the renewable energy industry has taken since Nov. 5, emphasizing the economic and energy benefits of offshore wind: 

“We will continue to assess all policy developments and work with the Trump administration as we deliver long-term energy solutions for the growing American economy.” 

The Oceantic Network juxtaposed the contradictory aspects of Trump’s various first-day actions, declaring a national energy emergency and trying to curtail a source of electricity. 

“Today’s actions threaten to strand $25 billion already flowing into new ports, vessels and manufacturing centers, and curtail future investments across our country,” CEO Liz Burdock said. “We urge the administration to reverse this sweeping action and keep America working in offshore energy as part of its commitment to an ‘all-of-the-above’ energy strategy.” 

Trump’s executive order targets the Lava Ridge onshore wind project in Idaho specifically and onshore wind in general. 

But it seems more focused on offshore wind, where the federal government can have more impact — few projects are planned close enough to shore that they would be subject to state review. 

Projects in federal portions of the Outer Continental Shelf face review by a host of federal agencies, any of which might move more slowly or less cooperatively than they did under the Biden administration, which was highly supportive of offshore wind development. 

Still, the executive order stopped well short of the existential threat to offshore wind Trump voiced on the campaign trail, with implications of a halt to construction or operation of fully permitted projects. 

“The actual executive order is more cautious than feared,” research and strategy firm Jeffries wrote in a Jan. 21 update. 

But what does the order mean — will it scare away investors, or derail the yearlong commitments needed to build a domestic supply chain and supporting ecosystem? Might that also limit the industry, with the added bonus of making it appear too weak to stand on its own? 

It is too soon to tell, said Oceantic, which represents more than 400 companies working in the offshore wind sector. 

Danish wind power leader Ørsted, which has had perhaps the rockiest ride in the early years of U.S. offshore wind development, offered no insight during a conference call Jan. 21 as to what impact the order might have on its operations. 

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) spoke resolutely Jan. 21 of the state’s support and need for offshore wind development. 

But she acknowledged she was concerned about the executive order and said: “We’ll see what else comes on this.” 

Healey emphasized the electrical generation capacity, economic benefits and job creation that offshore wind would offer, rather than the ecological benefits. 

In short, she followed the same script most of the U.S. renewable energy sector has followed since the election in November of an avowed climate skeptic and fossil fuel fan. 

Trump apparently was not swayed by that line of reasoning over the past two months, but advocates remain hopeful that members of his slim Republican majority in Congress will want to protect the new jobs created in their districts by green energy manufacturing. 

“The offshore wind industry’s supply chain alone spans 40 states and $25 billion … in investments, powering economic development and job creation,” Advanced Energy United CEO Heather O’Neill said. “Pausing offshore wind projects puts livelihoods at risk and will make it harder and more expensive for states to meet their energy needs.” 

The order goes beyond a freeze on permitting and leasing. It blocks issuance of rights of way and loans until an assessment is completed on the environmental impact of onshore and offshore wind, the economic costs of intermittent generation of electricity, and the effects of subsidies on the viability of the wind industry. 

American Clean Power Association CEO Jason Grumet assailed the provisions as being at odds with the nation’s character and interests. 

“For too long, we have witnessed careening policy restrictions on the development of energy resources on our nation’s vast federal lands,” he said in a news release. “Regardless of administration, ‘some of the above’ strategies are not good energy policy. No nation can achieve energy dominance absent consistent policy that moves beyond the idea that energy systems have partisan character.”