The Trump administration has been handed a major win in its crackdown on offshore wind, as a federal judge is allowing the government to proceed with its reconsideration of federal permits for an offshore wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts.
The permit in question was issued for the SouthCoast Wind Project in the final days of the Biden administration, marking the administration’s 11th approval of a commercial-scale offshore wind farm.
The Trump administration signaled its intent to reconsider the permit in September, claiming that the Environmental Impact Statement for the project may have “understated or obfuscated impacts” that would possibly result in noncompliance with the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.
District Court for the District of Columbia judge Tanya Chutkan, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, ruled in favor of the White House Tuesday, saying that the project developers would not suffer from “immediate and significant hardship” if the administration proceeded with the reconsideration.
The decision effectively allows the administration to strip the project of its federal approval, blocking it from being built under President Donald Trump’s second term.
The SouthCoast Wind Project is expected to be made up of 141 wind turbines that would generate around 2.4 gigawatts of power — enough for more than 840,000 homes in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
The project developers, EDP Renewables and ENGIE, are not only facing pressure from the Trump administration over the offshore wind farm, but have also been sued by the Town of Nantucket.
Nantucket sued the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in March to block the project, claiming the agency failed to comply with environmental and preservation laws when issuing federal permits.
The town celebrated Tuesday’s ruling, saying in a press release obtained by the Nantucket Current that it “affirms” their position that “the federal government must take a hard look at potential flaws in the environmental and cultural analysis underpinning offshore wind permitting decisions.”
“Nantucket remains supportive of responsible green energy development,” town officials continued. “However, the greenest action we can take as a nation is to ensure that our environmental and cultural protection laws are faithfully applied—because if those laws are weakened or ignored for renewable projects, they will be broken for non-renewable ones as well, undermining the very progress we seek toward a sustainable future.”
Tuesday’s ruling marks a significant win for Trump and his efforts to block the development of new offshore wind farms.
TRUMP’S CRACKDOWN ON OFFSHORE WIND LEAVES LITTLE CERTAINTY FOR INDUSTRY
The president and several of his Cabinet members have said that offshore wind has no future under this administration, with numerous agencies taking action to revoke permits or review health and national security risks associated with new projects.
In addition to the SouthCoast Wind Project, the Trump administration is specifically targeting permits granted to U.S. Wind for the Maryland Offshore Wind Project as well as New England Wind, also off the coast of Massachusetts.
