Trump, Who Hates Turbines, Poses a New Threat to Beleaguered Offshore Wind Energy

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(Bloomberg) — Companies racing to build multibillion-dollar wind farms in U.S. waters are already struggling with rising borrowing costs, supply chain problems and project declines.

Now they have a new worry: Donald Trump.

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The former US president and presumptive Republican nominee has made no secret of his dislike of wind energy, whether on land or at sea. He famously fought against a project within sight of his golf course in Aberdeen, Scotland, and derided wind farms as bird-killing monstrosities. However, he has recently toughened his rhetoric, telling attendees at a fundraiser in Florida last month that he hates wind farms, people familiar with the matter say.

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Renewable energy developers are preparing for more attacks on Saturday, when Trump will hold a rally on the beach in Wildwood, New Jersey – a state that has become the front line in battles over the future of offshore wind energy.

If Trump returns to the White House next year, analysts say he could target the sector and even projects that are now fully operational could be put in jeopardy.

“A Trump administration would be negative for the offshore wind industry. The only question is to what extent,” said Timothy Fox, managing director of Washington, D.C.-based research firm ClearView Energy Partners. “We are seeing comments from Trump that could suggest greater retaliation.”

This could involve the US government stopping approval of new projects or agreeing in court to reconsider approvals for wind farms that have already been approved. Trump’s election could also give more influence to other officials critical of offshore wind energy, including at the Pentagon and the Commerce Department.

Trump could even use the playbook written by his rival: While President Joe Biden has made dozens of decisions to advance renewable energy projects, Trump could use the same authority to thwart them.

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“All of these levers can be used just as easily by the Trump administration as they could by the Biden administration,” said Wayne D’Angelo, an environmental attorney at Kelley Drye and Warren LLP. “It’s not a one-sided ratchet.”

Consider Biden’s decision in January to suspend new natural gas export licenses while the administration considers the environmental consequences. Trump could order a similar moratorium on wind farm approvals to further analyze their impact on fisheries and wildlife. And just as the Biden administration is forcing oil and gas companies to allocate more money to cover potential cleanup costs, a future Trump administration could impose tough financial requirements on offshore wind farms.

Slower schedules could increase costs and hurt the development of a resource that northeastern states count on to provide zero-emissions electricity, with potential impacts on companies such as Avangrid Inc., Orsted AS, Shell Plc and Invenergy LLC.

Energy policy experts say that even in the best-case scenario, a second Trump term for renewable energy developers would mean longer reviews of planned projects by the Interior Department and fewer, if any, auctions for new offshore wind farms as the government shifts resources and attention to oil and gas.

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The very prospect of a Trump victory increases pressure on the U.S. wind industry, which is suffering from higher costs for key equipment such as towers, turbines and foundations. Opponents of wind power — including fishing advocates and disgruntled neighbors — have also gone to court to fight federal and state permits. And U.S. wildlife laws pose an ongoing risk because the turbines will be placed in waters that intersect with migration routes for North Atlantic right whales and other dwindling species.

Read more: A 48% cost increase scuttles Biden’s much-touted wind power plans

Still, former administration officials say Trump’s personal views on wind farms don’t necessarily spell doom.

When he was in the White House, “he did nothing to stop offshore wind,” said Andrew Wheeler, Trump’s former Environmental Protection Agency administrator and now a partner at Holland and Hart LLP. “I wouldn’t say the industry is in trouble under him.”

The Trump administration continued to examine proposed offshore wind farms and sell leases to build them. She even celebrated a then-record auction in 2018 as a “bidding win” that would contribute to American “energy dominance.” And although Trump’s Interior Department delayed a final decision on the Vineyard Wind project off Massachusetts to conduct more environmental reviews, that additional scrutiny helped arm the company against later legal challenges.

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Trump campaign spokespeople declined to comment. During the campaign, Trump reiterated his support for American oil and gas and promised: “Drill, baby, drill.”

Offshore wind advocates are preparing to make the case to Trump that the projects will mean more American jobs and more production – including big benefits for the U.S. steel sector, which the former president champions. And they are willing to draw on his experience as a real estate developer who may feel an aversion to government red tape that hampers private businesses.

The wind industry has unlocked $27 billion in spending, including $18 billion in shipbuilding, port rehabilitation, factory construction and other domestic supply chain investments, according to industry group Oceantic Network. Hundreds of millions of dollars are planned for new steel factories that will produce slabs and wind towers for offshore wind farms.

Industry advocacy must include educating people “about offshore wind’s key role in improving grid reliability and ensuring America’s energy dominance,” said Jason Ryan, spokesman for the American Clean Power Association.

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“Clean energy is a significant, growing and enduring part of the U.S. economy,” he said. “Offshore wind development in particular drives a domestic supply chain, including shipbuilding, and drives economic growth in coastal communities.”

Wind advocates are also willing to lean on Republican allies in Congress and local government who are already seeing the benefits firsthand. They include Rep. Steve Scalise, the Republican majority leader from Louisiana, who has touted the industry’s benefits for domestic shipbuilding and America’s energy power. “Wind is the newest form of energy that we are going to dominate,” and the U.S. needs more of it, Scalise said last year as he visited a special services ship under construction.

In New Jersey, just days before Trump’s rally, state Sen. Andrew Zwicker said he knew the industry faced challenges with or without Trump. “The dynamic is going in the wrong direction,” said the Democrat.

Still, there is a great opportunity on the horizon if the industry can weather the economic and political storm, he argued, adding that New Jersey could become the capital of a new “American energy – built and built right here in America.”

– With assistance from Nancy Cook.

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