Trump admin cancels $679 million for offshore wind projects as attacks
on reeling industry continue
[August 30, 2025] By
MATTHEW DALY
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Transportation Department on Friday canceled $679
million in federal funding for a dozen offshore wind projects, the
latest attack by the Trump administration on the reeling U.S. offshore
wind industry.
Funding for projects in 11 states was rescinded, including $435 million
for a floating wind farm in Northern California and $47 million to boost
an offshore wind project in Maryland that the Interior Department has
pledged to cancel.
“Wasteful, wind projects are using resources that could otherwise go
towards revitalizing America’s maritime industry,” Transportation
Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement. “Thanks to President Trump, we
are prioritizing real infrastructure improvements over fantasy wind
projects that cost much and offer little.”
It's the latest step by the administration against renewable energy
sources
The Trump administration has stepped up its crusade against wind and
other renewable energy sources in recent weeks, cutting federal funding
and canceling projects approved by the Biden administration in a
sustained attack on clean energy sources that scientists say are crucial
to the fight against climate change.
President Donald Trump has vowed to restore U.S. “energy dominance” in
the global market and has pushed to increase U.S. reliance on fossil
fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas that emit planet-warming
greenhouse gases.
California Rep. Jared Huffman, the top Democrat on the House Natural
Resources Committee, called Duffy’s action “outrageous” and deeply
disappointing.
Trump and his Cabinet “have a stubborn and mystifying hatred of clean
energy,” Huffman said in an interview. “It’s so dogmatic. They are
willing to eliminate thousands of jobs and an entire sector that can
bring cheap, reliable power to American consumers.”
The canceled funding will be redirected to upgrade ports and other
infrastructure in the U.S., where possible, the Transportation
Department said.
Other wind projects are also being halted
Separately, Trump’s Energy Department said Friday it is withdrawing a
$716 million loan guarantee approved by the Biden administration to
upgrade and expand transmission infrastructure to accommodate a
now-threatened offshore wind project in New Jersey.
The moves come as the administration abruptly halted construction last
week of a nearly complete wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island and
Connecticut. The Interior Department said the government needs to review
the $4 billion Revolution Wind project and address national security
concerns. It did not specify what those concerns are.
Democratic governors, lawmakers and union workers in New England have
called for Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to reverse course.
Trump has long expressed disdain for wind power, frequently calling it
an ugly and expensive form of energy that “smart” countries don’t use.
Earlier this month, the Interior Department canceled a major wind farm
in Idaho, a project approved late in former President Joe Biden’s term
that had drawn criticism for its proximity to a historic site where
Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II.
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Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee, center, speaks with Laborers'
International Union of North America leaders Donato Bianco, left,
and Michael Sabitoni, right, after a news conference in North
Kingstown, R.I., on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. Democratic politicians
and union leaders called on the Trump administration to allow work
to continue on the Revolution Wind offshore wind farm. (AP
Photo/Jennifer McDermott)
 Trump blames renewable power for
rising energy prices
Last week, with U.S. electricity prices rising at more than twice
the rate of inflation, Trump lashed out, falsely blaming renewable
power for skyrocketing energy costs. He called wind and solar energy
“THE SCAM OF THE CENTURY!” in a social media post and vowed not to
approve any wind or solar projects.
“We’re not allowing any windmills to go up unless there’s a legal
situation where somebody committed to it a long time ago,” Trump
said at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
Energy analysts say renewable sources have little to do with recent
price hikes, which are based on increased demand from artificial
intelligence and energy-hungry data centers, along with aging
infrastructure and increasingly extreme weather events such as
wildfires that are exacerbated by climate change.
Revolution Wind’s developer, Danish energy company Orsted, said it
is evaluating the financial impact of stopping construction on the
New England project and is considering legal proceedings.
Revolution Wind was expected to be Rhode Island and Connecticut’s
first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, capable of powering more
than 350,000 homes. In addition to hampering the states' climate
goals, losing out on all that renewable power could drive up
electricity prices throughout the region, Democratic officials say.
Critics say climate and jobs are at risk
Trump has made sweeping strides to prioritize fossil fuels and
hinder renewable energy projects. Those include reviewing wind and
solar energy permits, canceling plans to use large areas of federal
waters for new offshore wind development and stopping work on
another offshore wind project for New York, although construction
was later allowed to resume.
Some critics say the steps to cancel projects put Americans'
livelihoods at risk.
“It’s an attack on our jobs,” Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee said of
the move to stop construction of Revolution Wind. “It’s an attack on
our energy. It’s an attack on our families and their ability to pay
the bills.”
Patrick Crowley, president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, said his
union is “going to fight (Trump) every step of the way, no matter
how long it takes.”
Under Biden, the U.S. held the first-ever auction of leases for
floating wind farms in December 2022. Deep waters off the West Coast
are better suited for floating projects than those that are anchored
in the seabed, officials said.
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