Posted on November 11, 2024
If a Trump Interior Department slows permitting or halts leasing or reviews, it could delay projects on the East Coast. One of those is SouthCoast Wind, which plans to use the MassCEC terminal in the city to marshal the major wind turbine components.
Representatives of the offshore wind industry in public remarks on Wednesday congratulated President-elect Donald Trump, appealing to the former president — who previously vowed to halt offshore development through executive power — with the economic opportunities the nascent industry can offer to the American economy.
At the same time, stocks for several renewable energy companies dropped, with reports companies worry about future tariffs under Trump that could significantly increase project costs.
The Light previously reported that a second Trump administration could slow progress for the industry, which gained momentum under the Biden administration with project installation and several lease sales on both coasts. This potential slowing down could be felt in the Port of New Bedford, which is slated to support several projects in the coming years (and decades) in both the construction of and long-term operations and maintenance of the wind farms.
Delays occurred during the first Trump administration when the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management decided to undertake further study of the potential impacts of the Vineyard Wind project, holding up a key permit.
If a Trump Interior Department slows permitting or halts leasing or reviews, it could delay projects on the East Coast. One of those is SouthCoast Wind, which plans to use the MassCEC terminal in the city to marshal the major wind turbine components. (The terminal is currently in use for the Vineyard Wind project.)
To date, the project is awaiting several key permits from BOEM and NOAA Fisheries, including construction approvals. BOEM, however, just issued one of the key environmental reviews for the project this week.
SouthCoast Wind CEO Michael Brown did not address a question from The Light about potential delays under a Trump administration, but in a statement said the company is ready to work with the president-elect to deliver “abundant offshore wind energy and much-needed financial benefits to people and communities across southern New England.”
“Demand for electricity is expected to double by 2050 nationwide and states in the Northeast are counting on offshore wind to deliver a substantial portion of their electricity as well as create thousands of new jobs and a local supply chain that will bring new and sustained economic growth,” Brown said.
Andrew Saunders, president of the under-construction New Bedford Foss Marine Terminal, said it’s too soon to tell what impact Trump could have on the industry, but noted he is feeling “bullish and positive” about the industry’s future in New Bedford.
The Foss terminal is slated to work with several projects, including SouthCoast Wind, in support services or the operations and maintenance stage.
“We are going to supply operation and maintenance services to projects that have already been approved, and we can’t lose sight of the fact that it was the Trump administration that set the framework for the modern offshore wind industry,” Saunders said.
In May of this year, during a rally with supporters, Trump vowed to sign an executive order halting offshore wind: “We are going to make sure that that ends on day 1,” he said.
Trump could use such an order to pause offshore wind leasing, just as the Biden administration did with oil and gas leases, or slow down permitting reviews, which could affect less mature projects.
A Trump administration Department of Justice could also less vigorously challenge some of the several lawsuits against wind projects and the government agencies permitting them, or could voluntarily agree to take another look at the issue being contested in court (which could mean undertaking another time-intensive environmental analysis).
All of that can add time to the process, which can create further uncertainty, increase project costs, and preclude investments — including those in the domestic supply chain — that the industry needs.
BOEM published plans to hold lease auctions in several areas, including the Gulf of Maine and Central Atlantic, during the next presidential administration. This lease schedule, however, is not legally binding, and no law or regulation requires the agency to conduct the auctions.
The New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association, which has become a vocal force behind offshore wind opposition, this week asked the incoming Trump administration to “delist unleased wind energy areas” in the Gulf of Maine, the New York Bight (an important area for scallopers), and the Mid-Atlantic, stating the Interior’s previous actions “should not survive the first 100 days.”
The group said Trump has a “historic opportunity to save American workers from foreign developers.”
The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) declined to comment on how a second Trump term could impact the state’s progress in growing the industry, instead referring The Light to forthcoming remarks from Gov. Maura Healey on Wednesday.
During a press conference, Healey briefly mentioned offshore wind, stating “we’re going to continue to lead on offshore wind energy.”
Oceantic Network, a nonprofit representing the offshore wind industry, congratulated Trump on a “historic political comeback” and expressed hope that projects could progress as they did during his first term, when BOEM held three lease sales.
“Eight years ago, the first Trump administration laid out the fundamental framework for our modern offshore wind industry,” said Liz Burdock, the organization’s president. “The momentum started by that administration resulted in thousands of new jobs and $40 billion in new investment” for manufacturing, shipbuilding, port infrastructure and workforce development in both red and blue states.
“The U.S. offshore wind industry stands ready to welcome new investments in American factories and shipyards,” she continued, stating that together, they can “advance our nation’s economy, combat rising costs, and deliver more domestic energy.”
Sam Salustro, vice president of communications for the network, in an interview with The Light echoed these points, stating the industry can continue to provide jobs, attract investment, and feed more American-made power into the grid.
“There’s a fundamental truth to this industry right now — that it is real and it is putting Americans to work and it is putting money in the pockets of people,” Salustro said. “It’s also an industry that’s not going away. States are not going to back down on their demand for offshore wind.”
“I think the American people voted very strongly that the message of economic opportunity was one they were really responding to,” he said of Trump’s win. “This is an industry that offers that.”
The wind industry alone has invested $3 to $4 billion on steel facilities, he said. Money is also going to ports and shipbuilders to build up a supply chain of vessels needed to get the turbines in the water.
Salustro did not directly address the likelihood of a Trump executive order against the industry, but shared concern that his administration could redirect limited Interior resources (and staff) to oil and gas leasing, forcing offshore wind to compete with those industries to get their projects approved.
The Biden administration offered the fewest oil and gas lease sales in the program’s history. It’s possible a Trump administration could shift in the opposite direction.
American Clean Power Association CEO Jason Grumet in a statement Wednesday said the organization looks forward to working with the Trump-Vance administration to grow and deliver a domestic energy supply.
“Domestically produced clean power is vital to meeting our nation’s surging electricity demand. Our industry grew by double digits each year under the first Trump Administration and has accelerated this rate of progress since,” Grumet said. “By combining the strengths of all domestic energy resources, the Trump Administration can advance an economy that is dynamic, secure, and clean.”
One Republican leader who has crossed the aisle in support of offshore wind at the state level is Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin. There, utility company Dominion Energy is building a 176-turbine wind farm.
The project attracted a South Korean manufacturing company, which is building a $680 million plant in Chesapeake, Virginia, to produce offshore wind transmission cables, creating more than 300 jobs.
Salustro identified ports in red states Louisiana and Texas as benefiting economically, and it’s examples like those that the industry plans to highlight with the incoming Trump administration and electeds to earn bipartisan support.
Locally, he cited both New Bedford and Rhode Island’s ProvPort as a “poster child” of this economic opportunity.
“A lot of people are working up there. Those harbors are just unbelievably busy every single day,” Salustro said. “There are real-life examples of how this industry is providing.”
