The Trump administration has cancelled $679 million(£500m) in federal funding intended to support offshore wind infrastructure at ports across the US, dealing a major blow to the country’s clean energy ambitions.
The decision affects 12 projects awarded under the Biden administration, including California’s Humboldt Bay, which alone was set to receive over $426 million.
The funding was meant to turn ports into hubs for wind turbine assembly and deployment.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the funds would be redirected to “critical port upgrades”, calling the wind projects “wasteful”.
Offshore wind projects are a key part of the Biden-era goal to install 30GW by 2030 – enough to power 10 million homes – and were expected to create more than 77,000 jobs.
Industry leaders say the abrupt policy reversal endangers those targets and threatens thousands of skilled jobs.
“This is a new level of idiocracy,” said Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif), “destroying a clean energy sector and killing good jobs.”
Humboldt Bay Port Director Chris Mikkelsen said the cancellation hurts rural economies: “This is the biggest economic opportunity we’ve seen in a century.”
The Trump administration also recently halted work on a Rhode Island offshore wind farm and reinstated a moratorium on new offshore wind projects.
Trump cited “national security” concerns, but did not elaborate.
Despite growing demand for electricity and state-level clean energy targets, the move throws the future of over 80GW of planned offshore wind projects into question. Developers face rising costs, higher interest rates, and increasing political uncertainty.
“This doesn’t change our outcome,” said Mikkelsen. “The US needs power. Offshore wind is part of that future.”
Trump pulls plug on $679m offshore wind port funding appeared first on Energy Live News.