By John Hankins
Although Donald Trump is a windbag, he has ordered not to allow wind power from oceans designated for such projects.
The move applies to more than 1.4 million hectares of federal waters across California (slated off San Luis Obispo County), Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of Maine, the New York Bight, Oregon, and the Central Atlantic.
The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced on July 30 it was rescinding huge swaths of ocean initially set aside for the fast-tracking of offshore wind projects by the administration of former president Barack Obama and expanded by former president Joe Biden.
Our local Rep. Salud Carbajal was quick to make a statement.
“This is another backwards policy decision by the Trump administration that will hurt our wind energy sector and the thousands of jobs it supports.”
“Wind power is no longer theoretical—it’s vital to our economy and energy security. Undermining renewables not only hurts American workers and businesses, but it also hands the future of clean energy to global competitors like China. This is an America Last policy approach.”
To add insult to injury, Interior said that it was considering halting all wind development on federal lands.
Also with a quick response, Sierra Club's Deputy Legislative Director Xavier Boatright said: “With the stroke of a pen, Donald Trump and Doug Burgum have put thousands of Americans out of work. If Trump had any ounce of compassion or care for the American people and truly wanted to build U.S. energy dominance, he would be bolstering renewable energy projects like Empire that create stable jobs, allow families to breathe easier, and save more on electricity. Instead, Trump is yet again prioritizing the interests of Big Fossil Fuel, and making Americans pay the price.”
When Trump was at his golf course in Scotland recently, he went on a rant against wind energy, claiming they are ugly, killing hundreds of birds and made whales go crazy.
Trump’s opposition is nothing new, and his war on wind energy began during a long-running battle with Scottish authorities over 11 wind turbines that can be seen from his Turnberry luxury golf resort. The legal challenge, launched in 2013, was ultimately dismissed by the UK Supreme Court in December 2015.
Latest development? Scotland has given the go-ahead for the Berwick Bank project, which would be positioned 23 miles off the east coast in the North Sea, and will boast up to 307 of Trump’s big renewable enemies.