Jobs, Environment, Communities Harmed by Abandonment of Clean Energy
The N.C. Sierra Club issued the following statement Wednesday in response to President Donald Trump’s decision to spend $1 billion in taxpayer money to convince TotalEnergies to cancel wind projects off the shores of New York and North Carolina:
“It’s ridiculous that North Carolina has been robbed of thousands of clean energy jobs and generational energy production simply because the president of the United States doesn’t like windmills. This decision ignores the dire and immediate need for a shift to clean, renewable energy sources and instead embraces a future of dirty fuels and a melting planet. To favor fracking and deep sea drilling over clean wind energy projects capable of stabilizing energy costs and powering 300,000 North Carolina homes and businesses reveals a complete failure of presidential leadership," said Chris Herndon, Chapter Director of the N.C. Sierra Club.
"The generational impact that unchecked fossil fuel use will have on our climate is devastating to imagine; but this is not just about the environment. It’s not just about the money North Carolinians could save by relying on clean wind energy. And, it’s not just about the president’s doubling down – again – on oil and gas, whose prices rise and fall based on the weather and on which countries are at war with each other. This is also about jobs and our economy. A wind turbine has dozens of components, produced by hundreds of companies in and around North Carolina. With one swipe of a pen, the president knee-capped a nascent clean energy industry, and all the jobs and revenue that went with it.
"We applaud Gov. Josh Stein, and thank him for speaking out against this egregious overstep of power. In his words: 'This is a terrible deal for the people of North Carolina and our country.'"