Tilting at Wind Farms, Trump Administration Pauses Offshore Wind Projects
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration today announced it would pause leases for five wind farms currently under construction. The move, which came from the U.S. Department of the Interior, cited purported national security concerns as the reason for putting a hold on the projects. The move is part of a broader push against renewable energy enacted by an administration of fossil fuel cronies, including pauses on offshore wind projects in New York and Rhode Island. In response, Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen’s Energy Program issued the following statement:
“President Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum continue to launch baseless attack after baseless attack on American energy, exacerbating an energy affordability crisis, killing jobs, and raising Americans’ utility bills. The baffling move to pause these projects comes at a moment when energy bills have skyrocketed, far outpacing inflation. Bringing down costs will require more energy generation, not less.
“Burgum’s definition of national security risk, and bizarre invocation of a ‘swarm drone attack through a wind farm’ to close down projects is a wild abuse of authority. It is part of a spree of anti-renewable and pro-fossil fuel policies that will undermine affordable energy for decades. If this is an ‘energy emergency’ Trump would have kept these projects up and running.
“We warned a year ago that Trump would use phony national security arguments to push fossil fuels and attack renewables as a strategy to cloak their weak arguments behind a classified wall, preventing journalists and the public from being able to scrutinize and assess justifications to stop projects. Trump is acting like a two-bit thug, willing to abuse the constitution for his petty political vindictiveness.
“It is abundantly clear that any consideration of federal ‘bipartisan permitting reform’ cannot occur as long as Trump wages a war on renewables. Any movement to pass legislation now would be nothing more than a blatant handout to the fossil fuel and mining industries. This entire attempt to weaken rules that protect Americans’ access to clean water and air is a distraction from addressing the staggering energy costs and an escalating climate crisis.”
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