Trump Halts Offshore Wind, Killing NJ Jobs & Delaying Energy Transition
Thursday, January 23, 2025
NJ Sierra Club Reacts to Trump’s Offshore Wind Executive Order
Trenton, New Jersey - On the first day of his Presidency, Donald Trump announced he is halting development of all offshore wind projects across the United States. Right now, there are enough offshore wind projects in development in the United States to power over six million homes once completed.
Currently in New Jersey, our state has been leading the way towards a responsible transition to clean energy and the creation of the offshore wind industry. Governor Murphy established goals to achieve 100% clean electricity by 2035, which would include 11,000 MW of responsibly developed offshore wind power by 2040. Additionally, our state is home to the New Jersey Wind Port, a first-of-its-kind facility that would employ hundreds of New Jerseyans in South Jersey.
The first wind project expected to become operable off of New Jersey’s coast is the Atlantic Shores project, located 10-20 miles off of Atlantic City with the potential to power 700,000 homes. The project is projected to create $1.9 billion in economic benefits for the state and nearly 50,000 jobs. The Atlantic Shores project has already received all required Federal permitting, but at this moment it remains unclear how this fully approved project will be impacted by Trump’s order.
Two more offshore wind projects, Attentive Energy Two and Leading Light Wind, are scheduled further along on the state’s horizon and collectively have the potential to power over 1.5 million homes and generate over $6 billion in economic benefits.
By stopping ongoing projects, Trump can cancel the 77,000 stable, high-paying jobs created by President Biden within the offshore wind sector. Additionally, offshore wind is a reliable source of energy that would lower energy bills for families, and drastically reduce toxic air and water pollution caused by dirty fossil fuels.
Donald Trump’s halt on offshore wind can take jobs away from hard-working Americans, raise monthly energy bills and expose people to more deadly pollution and hurt communities. Offshore wind is one of the key energy sources that would give the country energy independence in order to be free from the price volatility of fossil fuels due to geopolitical issues; Trump is failing to recognize the huge economic and geo-political opportunities provided by offshore wind and give America a true chance to achieve energy independence.
In response, NJ Sierra Club Director, Anjuli Ramos-Busot, released the following statement;
“For over a decade, New Jersey has been a National leader for the responsible development and equitable build-out of the offshore wind industry. Yesterday’s executive order by President Trump to halt offshore wind development is a devastating, direct blow to New Jersey families and workers who stand to benefit from the thousands of high-paying jobs associated with the industry. The offshore wind projects and associated ports across the state are an economic boon and provide a breath of clean, fresh air to residents. Furthermore, building out offshore wind would lower energy bills and utility costs for communities across the entire state, including the folks at the shore.
Thanks to President Trump’s executive order, all of this is now on the line, and our energy transition is further delayed while the impacts of climate change only grow more intense. The same residents he robs of in-state well-paying jobs, he now puts on the front lines of the next climate disaster. New Jersey needs offshore wind for a livable and prosperous future, and the New Jersey Sierra Club remains committed to advocating for offshore wind and will continue to fight to defend our progress. It is time for these elected officials to keep up with the times. America is ready for a new industry, one that serves the economy, the environment, and the people.”