Posted on January 15, 2025
Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) said Tuesday he is collaborating with President-elect Trump on an executive order that would halt the construction of new wind turbines, a frequent Trump target, off the East Coast.
In a statement, Van Drew said he has been “working closely” with Trump on the measure as well as longer-term plans for permanent restrictions on offshore wind projects. The New Jersey Republican projected the order would be finalized within months of Trump’s inauguration.
“This executive order is just the beginning. We will fight tooth and nail to prevent this offshore wind catastrophe from wreaking havoc on the hardworking people who call our coastal towns home,” Van Drew said in a statement.
Van Drew’s southern New Jersey district includes beach towns and summer colonies like Cape May, Atlantic City and Long Beach Island. In July, the Biden administration approved the first wind project off the Garden State, a 200-turbine project by Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind that would be visible from Long Beach Island. The administration set a broader target of approving wind projects spanning both coasts.
Trump has long been a booster of fossil fuels, which are the primary cause of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, and a detractor of renewable energy. He has expressed particular opposition toward wind energy, blasting it as inefficient and unsightly and blaming it for the deaths of birds and whales.
Existing data suggests turbines kill a few hundred thousand birds annually, but the American Bird Conservancy estimates this is an undercount and the number could be over 1 million under modern turbine levels. However, house cats and buildings kill far more, according to MIT’s Climate Portal.
Meanwhile, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says there is “no significant evidence” linking turbines to increased whale deaths.
In a wide-ranging press conference last week Trump suggested he planned to seek the end of new offshore wind energy in his second term, saying “we’re going to try and have a policy where no windmills are being built,” and suggested he would end it by executive order “on day one” during his 2024 campaign.
A spokesperson for the Trump transition team referred The Hill to the president’s previous comments on wind turbines.
