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President-elect Donald Trump’s vow to kill offshore wind energy development”on day one” of his second term is already underway project slowdowns on the East Coastbut the largest wind farm proposed in the Gulf of Mexico is likely to stay on track.
That’s because the project is on such a long development timeline that Trump’s four-year term will be over before permitting and construction begin, according to RWE, the German energy giant that plans to build a 2,000 megawatt wind farm about 40 miles south of Lake Charles, Louisiana. The project, which could power more than 350,000 homes, is not expected to be operational for about a decade.
“The project has a long-term development timeline that is longer than any federal administration, and with a planned operational date in the mid-2030s,” RWE spokesman Ryan Ferguson said.
RWE, the world’s second largest offshore wind developer, and other key players in the renewable energy industry announced shifts in funding priorities and warned of project delays and possible derailments after Trump was elected president this month.
“The change of administration in the US poses risks to the timely implementation of offshore wind projects,” RWE chief financial officer Michael Muller said at a press conference earlier this month. “The new Republican administration may delay specific projects. For example, the realization of our Community Offshore Wind project near New York depends on outstanding permits from US federal authorities.”
The “higher risks and delays” in the US offshore wind market prompted RWE to initiate a $1.6 billion share buyback, RWE CEO Markus Krebber said on a call with investors. The buyback signaled a significant shift in the company’s near-term spending priorities, but not a waning confidence in the durability of U.S. demand for renewable energy, Muller said, noting that a growing number of states are setting goals for solar and wind energy .
RWE’s recalibration makes sense, said Jenny Netherton, the Southeastern Wind Coalition‘s Louisiana program manager.
“It was not unexpected,” she said. “Companies are always trying to find the best way forward in an uncertain environment.”
Trump’s opposition to offshore wind has caught on 2006as he began a decade-long battle with the Scottish government over a proposed wind farm, the future US president said it would spoil the view of a golf course he hoped to build. Trump lost the battle and was ordered to pay Scotland nearly $300,000 in legal fees. In recent speeches, Trump has said wind farms harm property values and wildlife. More strangely, he claimed wind energy cause cancerincrease food prices and prevent people watching TV when the wind doesn’t blow.
During his first term, Trump was accused of “walk slowly” the permits for some of the first offshore wind farms in federal waters. RWE and other companies say wind farms already under construction are likely to move forward, but projects that will break ground over the next few years may face setbacks.
Of the 30 states with offshore wind potential, nine have statewide wind energy mandate. Two states — Massachusetts and Rhode Island — have deadlines to meet wind energy targets in the 2020s and four states — New York, Connecticut, Maryland and Virginia — have deadlines in the 2030s.
These goals and the US’s ever-increasing electricity needs are signs that Trump may slow but not kill wind energy development, Muller said.
“We still believe US offshore wind [energy] is still needed,” he said, noting New York in particular. “If they are going to keep up with demand, they need offshore wind.”
Louisiana has set a goal to increase the capacity for 5,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2035, but the target was not legally binding. Proposed in 2021 during the administration of Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, the goal appears to have been abandoned by Gov. Jeff Landry, who took office in January. The Republican governor has said little publicly about offshore wind development and did not respond to requests seeking his position on the matter.
Many other Louisiana Republicans strongly support offshore wind, seeing it as an economic boon for the state. Louisiana companies that have long served the offshore oil and gas industry have seen business flagging in recent years. Several of them, including shipbuilders, engineering firms and metal fabricators, easily transitioned to planning and building offshore projects on the East Coast, including the U.S. first offshore wind farm.
Bipartisan legislation in Louisiana paved the way for a fast-track approval process for wind projects in state-managed waters, which extend 3 miles offshore. Louisiana has approved agreements with two companies to build small-scale wind farms near Cameron Parish and Port Fourchon, the Gulf’s largest oil and gas port. The two projects will probably be built years before the RWE wind farm.
The last federal lease auction in the Gulf was canceled in July due to poor interest from bidders, but two companies recently competitive plans offered for an area of 142,000 acres near Galveston, Texas. It’s unclear how Trump’s victory will affect those proposals. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is waiting to see if there is more developer interest in the area and will likely begin a competitive lease sale in the coming months.
While Trump could cause uncertainty at the federal level, Louisiana is unlikely to waver in its support for offshore wind energy, Netherton said.
“It still enjoys broad support here,” she said. “Nationally, there’s very little control over what’s happening, but in Louisiana, offshore wind has a very clear path forward.”
