Amid a blizzard of government orders issued on Monday after his inauguration, US President Donald Trump moved to halt the event of offshore wind energy by briefly suspending the sale of any new leases for wind farms in waters of the Outer Continental Shelf.
The manager order additionally directed a complete assessment of present leases to report on terminating or amending them, and figuring out authorized bases for doing so on grounds of “ecological, financial, and environmental necessity”.
The order additionally suspended the issuing of latest or renewed approvals, rights of manner, permits, leases, or loans for onshore and offshore wind initiatives pending a complete evaluation of leasing and allowing practices led by the Secretary of the Inside.
The evaluation will think about the environmental affect of onshore and offshore wind initiatives on “wildlife, together with, however not restricted to, birds and marine mammals”.
Earlier than the November election, Trump claimed repeatedly and with out proof that wind generators harmed whales.
The evaluation will even think about “the financial prices related to the intermittent era of electrical energy and the impact of subsidies on the viability of the wind trade”.
It’s not clear but how this government order will have an effect on initiatives like Equinor’s $5bn Empire Wind scheme off the coast of New York. Equinor acquired the lease for it in 2017.
The order was wanted, the order mentioned, “to foster an vitality economic system able to assembly the nation’s rising demand for dependable vitality, the significance of marine life, impacts on ocean currents and wind patterns, results on vitality prices for Individuals – particularly those that can least afford it –- and to make sure that america is ready to preserve a sturdy fishing trade for future generations and supply low value vitality to its residents”.
Clear Energy Affiliation responds
In response, Jason Grumet, chief government of the American Clear Energy Affiliation, issued an announcement saying: “ACP strongly opposes blanket measures to halt or impede improvement of home wind vitality on federal lands and waters.
“The contradiction between the energy-focused Government Orders is stark: whereas on one hand the Administration seeks to scale back forms and unleash vitality manufacturing, on the opposite it will increase bureaucratic limitations, undermining home vitality improvement and harming American companies and staff.
“The chance that the federal authorities might search to actively oppose vitality manufacturing by American corporations on non-public land is at odds with our nation’s character in addition to our nationwide pursuits.”
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