Through ‘questionable’ means,Trump is paying to make offshore wind power disappear

Large scale, renewable power is difficult to come by on the East Coast, which must contend with aging power lines and a dense landscape. As the region's electricity prices continue to rise, offshore wind offered a unique solution to its energy and emissions woes — but the Trump administration’s hostility has caused these initiatives to disappear. 

“The administration has subjected offshore wind projects to questionable Pentagon reviews, permit revocations, and stop-work orders,” Austin Corona writes for Grist. “The administration’s most consequential move may have been its decision to pay developers to surrender their rights to develop in federally managed waters. By mid-August, it had committed to roughly $4 billion in payouts, wiping an estimated 21 gigawatts of potential wind power capacity off U.S. coasts, or enough energy to power over 15 million average-sized U.S. homes.”

These offshore wind energy projects are disappearing at a time when the three major interstate grids in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic are facing growing demand from data centers and new manufacturing. At least nine companies are still holding onto their offshore wind development rights, with some appearing unlikely to strike a deal, Grist reports.