ASSOCIATED PRESS • November 10, 2024
Opponents of offshore wind energy projects expect President-elect Donald Trump to kill an industry he has vowed to end on the first day he returns to the White House. “We are going to make sure that that ends on Day 1,” Trump said in a May speech. “I’m going to write it out in an executive order. They destroy everything, they’re horrible, the most expensive energy there is. They ruin the environment, they kill the birds, they kill the whales.” Numerous federal and state scientific agencies say there is no evidence linking offshore wind preparation to a spate of whale deaths along the U.S. East Coast. Commercial fishermen in Maine said they hope the Trump administration will undo policies designed to help build and approve offshore wind projects. Trump is unlikely to end projects under development but might have more leverage over ones still in the planning stage.