On one of his stops on the campaign trail, former US president and the presumptive Republican nominee for the upcoming election, Donald Trump, said that he would issue an executive order specifically targeting offshore wind if he wins a second term in office. During a rally in Wildwood, New Jersey, Trump fired a salvo on offshore wind projects, labelling them as lethal for birds and whales, and pledged to take decisive action against the projects. If he wins the seat in the Oval Office, this could be a huge threat to the US offshore wind industry which has its set of issues without Trump threatening it. “We are going to make sure that that ends on day one. I’m going to write it out in an executive order,” Trump said at the rally. Trump has always had animosity towards wind power but made no real attempts to hinder it during his time in office. However, his statements in New Jersey suggest that his hands-off stance might change. It is still unknown what the executive order could entail. It could go along the lines of halting the permitting of new projects or asking for new offshore wind impact assessments. This was the approach taken by current US president Joe Biden for offshore oil leasing and the moratorium he imposed on it as soon as he got to the White House. Those in favour of offshore wind point to the economic benefit from the industry which could be as high as $25bn annually from the US. The growth of the sector will drive demand for steel, new ships, and other equipment. Also, offshore wind could help massively with the power needs of coastal residents as some 40% of the global populace resides within 100 km of coastline. Trump said during his speech that offshore wind farms “kill whales” due to ocean floor surveys needed to plan their construction. “Nobody even knows what it is. But I think in 20 years one whale washed up on shore, and then where they have these things, they come up all the time, dead,” he added. Although an increase in humpback whale deaths since 2016 does exist, US scientists have found no link between that and offshore wind developments as many fatalities can be attributed to boat strikes or entanglements. Scientists are concerned over greater noise, higher vessel traffic, and changes to the whale’s habitats linked to offshore wind farms. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1_95_0_1_2'); }); TagsOffshore Wind United States