‘Wasteful wind projects are using resources that could otherwise go towards revitalizing America’s maritime industry,’ Sean Duffy said.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy withdrew or terminated 12 offshore wind projects across the country that are worth $679 million in funding, according to an Aug. 29 statement by the Department of Transportation (DOT).
The latest announcement is part of a series of actions the Trump administration has taken to limit the expansion of energy sources such as wind and solar.
“Wasteful wind projects are using resources that could otherwise go towards revitalizing America’s maritime industry,” said Duffy, adding that the prior Biden administration promoted such projects, “ignoring the dire needs of our shipbuilding industry.”
Offshore wind farms pose considerable demands on existing port infrastructure for staging, assembly, and maintenance. Existing port capabilities and resources are diverted from offering conventional services such as shipping, container, and fishing facilities toward servicing wind turbines, according to a report by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Besides endangering marine mammals while developing large-scale offshore wind farms, shipping lanes are sometimes diverted to make way for wind turbines, leading to increased fuel costs as vessels take alternate routes to and from ports.
The DOT will work with its Maritime Administration to recompete funding from the wind farm projects toward addressing critical port upgrades and other core infrastructure needs of the United States, said the statement.
According to the DOT’s review, 12 offshore wind projects have been identified as not meeting the necessary obligations required for the renewal of grant programs.
The withdrawn projects are Sparrows Point Steel Marshalling Port Project in Baltimore; Bridgeport Port Authority Operations and Maintenance Wind Port Project; Wind Port at Paulsboro; Arthur Kill Terminal; Gateway Upgrades for Access, Resiliency & Development at the Port of Davisville Project; Norfolk Offshore Wind Logistics Port; and Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind, which alone accounted for over $426 million.
The terminated projects are Redwood Marine Terminal Project Planning; Salem Wind Port Project; Lake Erie Renewable Energy Resilience Project; Radio Island Rail Improvements; and PMT Offshore Wind Development.
