Tag Archives: offshore wind farms

Working To Bring Down The Cost Of Energy For Americans

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On Sunday, The Independent Journal Review (IJR) posted an article about the changes the Trump administration is making to the offshore wind projects started by President Biden.

The article reports:

The Trump administration’s systematic dismantling of Joe Biden’s offshore wind dreams continued on Monday.

The Department of Interior (DOI) announced an agreement with Duke Energy in which the company agrees to cancel its plans for a huge wind project offshore North Carolina — adjacent to the Carolina Long Bay area — in exchange for a payment of $129 million.

Despite claims from critics that the payment amounts to the administration bribing Duke to cancel its project, the truth is that the funds represent a partial reimbursement of the company’s lease costs consistent with federal statutes and regulations. The good news for North Carolina is the way Duke plans to reinvest the funds.

“This settlement allows Duke Energy to refocus $129 million in ways that directly benefit our customers and communities in the Carolinas,” said Kodwo Ghartey-Tagoe, executive vice president and chief executive officer of Duke Energy Carolinas. “Under the agreement, Duke Energy will reinvest nearly $129 million in additional generating capacity, which may include advancing new nuclear and natural gas generation, and grid enhancements to strengthen reliability, support continued growth in the Carolinas and keep costs as low as possible.”

So, rather than saddling ratepayers with higher bills which invariably result from subsidy deals between state governments and offshore wind farms, Duke plans to target its funds to new, 24/7 baseload capacity. Those hardest hit will be the craven public officials who had hoped to signal their green virtues related to the wind fiasco.

The article notes:

The settlement with Duke Energy is the latest in a series of similar deals between the Interior Department and offshore developers. Since early 2026, the DOI has executed multiple similar deals to unwind early-stage offshore wind leases, redirecting capital toward reliable energy sources as part of the Energy Dominance agenda. These deals provide partial reimbursements for lease payments while encouraging companies to invest in natural gas, nuclear, oil, LNG, or geothermal projects.

Green energy has never been about the environment. In 2010 I posted an article about the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) running out of money after the Democrats in Congress could not pass their cap and trade legislation. A number of high-profile Democrats were the ones who lost money when the CCX folded.

Turning The Tide On Unreliable Green Energy

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One of the problems with wind farms and solar farms is that the wind does not always blow and the sun does not always shine. As America moves toward energy independence, our country is also moving to proven energy sources. Wind and solar do not fit in that category–the countries in Europe that have tried to move entirely to wind and solar have had to change their policies.

On Thursday, WBOC, a DelMarVa news source, reported the following:

OCEAN CITY, Md. – WBOC has acquired a court filing in which the Town of Ocean City and numerous other local plaintiffs have asked a federal judge to prohibit any construction of US Wind’s proposed offshore project while a lawsuit against the project’s approval plays out in court.

The filing, submitted Wednesday, Nov. 5, is the latest move in the Town of Ocean City’s suit to reverse the Biden Administration’s approval of the project that would put over 100 wind turbines off the coast of Worcester County. Ocean City is joined by multiple local businesses, organizations, and residents in their legal battle against the project.

There have been a number of studies relating offshore wind projects to the death of whales and dolphins (one study here). There is evidence that the construction and low frequency of the wind farms interferes with the navigational abilities of certain species.

The article concludes:

WBOC has also obtained a transcript of a conference call on Sept. 18 between the lawsuit’s parties, including Judge Gallagher. During that call, an attorney for US Wind told the judge that construction for the project had already begun.

“I mean…the construction pursuant to the [Construction and Operations Plan] began last year,” the attorney said, according to the court transcript. “Construction is under way. We will continue with ongoing on-the-land construction next year, and…there is a detailed schedule, sequence of events that leads to undersea construction after that.”

What that construction entailed, where it was occurring, or whether it would be included in the proposed injunction was not clear. WBOC previously reached out to a US Wind spokesperson in October to clarify where this construction was taking place but did not receive an answer. We reached out again on Thursday but have not yet received a response as of 2:30 p.m.

Judge Gallagher has yet to weigh in on either US Wind’s or Ocean City’s preliminary injunction requests.

Let’s move forward with less damaging and more reliable sources of energy.

Common Sense Arrives

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On Friday, The New York Post posted an article about the federal funding for offshore wind projects.

The article reports:

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Friday that $679 million in federal funding has been withdrawn for 12 “doomed” offshore wind projects – including three in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

The scrapped funding includes $10.5 million for Connecticut’s Bridgeport Port Authority Operations and Maintenance Wind Port project, $20.5 million for New Jersey’s Wind Port at Paulsboro and $48 million for Staten Island’s Arthur Kill Terminal. 

The Trump administration plans to spend the withdrawn funds on “real infrastructure” and “restoring American maritime dominance.” 

“Wasteful, wind projects are using resources that could otherwise go towards revitalizing America’s maritime industry,” Duffy said in a statement.

“Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg bent over backwards to use transportation dollars for their Green New Scam agenda while ignoring the dire needs of our shipbuilding industry,” Duffy said. “Thanks to President Trump, we are prioritizing real infrastructure improvements over fantasy wind projects.”

At a White House Cabinet meeting earlier this week, President Trump fumed that wind projects were “ruining our country.”

“We’re not allowing any windmills to go up,” the president said. “They’re ruining our country. They’re ugly, they don’t work, they kill your birds. They’re bad for the environment.”

In July 2024, I posted an article about an environmental disaster caused by the failure of a windmill blade off Nantucket in Massachusetts (article here). The failure not only caused the island to have to close beaches because of contamination caused by the disintegration of the blade, but oysters and mussels in the area were contaminated by hazardous fiberglass particles that can cause harm to humans.

In 2020, I posted an article about two Massachusetts town that put up wind turbines in 2016 and voted to remove them in 2020 after approximately 360 complaints from residents in the area. Complaints include shadow flicker, nausea, vertigo, sleep disturbance, headaches, anxiety and sound disturbances. The towns were Bourne and Plymouth. The windmills were situated on Route 25.

We don’t fully understand the impact of low-frequency vibrations on people. Until we do, it might be a good idea to keep windmills away from populated areas.

There may come a day when we find a practical, economical and safe way to harness wind energy, but we are not there yet.