>> Continued From the Previous Page <<
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, a Democrat, just announced that his state would no longer fund the massive Atlantic Shores offshore wind farm off the coast of Atlantic City. Murphy, who took office in 2017 with a bold renewable energy agenda, is now leaving office with no wind farms to show for it. Offshore wind, once a key component of his energy policy, has become yet another failed green initiative.
Despite the setbacks, Murphy had touted offshore wind as “a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create tens of thousands of jobs, drive an entirely new manufacturing supply chain, and secure energy independence.” But even he had to admit the industry is facing serious hurdles.
Murphy’s administration approved five offshore wind projects, yet none of them have materialized. The Danish company Orsted, a leader in wind energy, pulled out of two projects in 2023, blaming inflation and supply chain issues.
Atlantic Shores was meant to be a partnership between New Jersey and energy giants Shell and EDF, but its success hinged on state funding. The Biden administration fast-tracked its approval in its final days, but with Trump back in office, the project lost critical federal support. Two other offshore wind proposals in New Jersey are still awaiting federal permits, but those are unlikely to be approved under Trump’s leadership.
Trump has been a vocal critic of wind power, blasting it as an expensive, inefficient, and environmentally harmful energy source.
“They destroy everything, they’re horrible, the most expensive energy there is,” Trump said in a May 2023 campaign speech. “They ruin the environment, they kill the birds, they kill the whales.”
Where offshore wind has been built, it has been riddled with problems. The Vineyard Wind 1 project in Massachusetts was supposed to be a major success story, but out of 62 planned turbines, only one is currently operational. Worse, one of the massive turbine blades broke off and fell into the ocean, scattering fiberglass debris along the coastline.
Blue states like New York are now reconsidering their offshore wind commitments in light of Trump’s policies. Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, admitted that New York’s wind energy ambitions are now stalled.
Just Released: Trump White House Collector’s Bobblehead!
“New York could come out tomorrow and announce new projects but if we can’t get the federal government to act, then these projects would be dead in the water,” Esposito said. “New York is somewhat handcuffed by the lack of a federal government that values wind.”
With Trump back in the Oval Office, offshore wind has come to a standstill. What was once a central pillar of the Democrats’ green energy revolution is now another expensive failure, proving that wind power cannot stand on its own without massive government subsidies. The reality is setting in: offshore wind is not the future, and Trump’s policies are ensuring that taxpayer dollars are no longer wasted on this boondoggle.
