Offshore wind association Oceantic Network has reacted with dismay after Donald Trump signed an executive order to pause wind energy leasing and permitting on his first day in office.
It came a couple of weeks after Oceantic published its Offshore Energy at Work report, which emphasised the importance of the sector to the US.
Liz Burdock, founder and CEO of the association Oceantic Network, called it ‘a blow to the American offshore wind industry’ that ‘hurts the hundreds of US supply chain companies and thousands of workers already building more American energy’.
“While under a National Energy Emergency created by an unprecedented rise in energy demand, we should be working to quickly bring generation online instead of curtailing a power source capable of providing base load generation and creating new jobs across 40 states,” she said. “Today’s actions threaten to strand $25 billion already flowing into new ports, vessels, and manufacturing centers, and curtail future investments across our country.
“We urge the administration to reverse this sweeping action and keep America working in offshore energy as part of its commitment to an ‘all-of-the-above’ energy strategy. We invite President Trump, his administration, and Congressional leaders to visit our members’ factories, training centers, and projects to meet their dedicated workers and see the emerging American energy production in action.”
The action, says Oceantic, will strand businesses that have already reorganised their operations to participate in the sector, and affect 40 states in which there is already a supply chain.
“In the face of a national energy emergency, we must support an ‘all-of-the-above’ energy strategy to ensure our country’s power reliability, energy security, and maintain our position in the global economy,” said Oceantic spokesman Luke Jeanfreau.
He said energy demand was expected to increase five times faster than expected over the next five years.
The executive order probably came as no surprise to Oceantic, with Trump never hiding his disdain for ‘windmills’ and having said just one week ago that he planned to make the move.
As well as saying he intended to ‘drill baby, drill’, he pledged to rename the Gulf of Mexico ‘the Gulf of America’ and ‘take back’ the Panama Canal.
