WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced it is pausing the leases of five offshore wind projects in active construction along the East Coast. In response, Harry Godfrey, Managing Director at Advanced Energy United, released the following statement:

“The Administration’s complaints about offshore wind are meritless, and a judge just recently called these kinds of arbitrary actions illegal. With energy in increasingly high demand, putting so many projects on hold threatens to drive up energy costs across the East Coast. The grid operator PJM just failed to secure enough generation in its latest capacity auction this month, and if these wind projects are delayed, it will make keeping the lights on during an energy crunch even more difficult in the Mid-Atlantic. Putting politics ahead of sound energy policy will raise energy bills and undercut affordability. 

The Trump Administration is once again demonstrating why federal permitting reform from Congress is desperately needed, and why comprehensive reform needs to include regulatory stability for existing projects. Projects already approved, let alone those in active construction, should not have to fear sudden cancellation, especially with such poor justification. Today’s actions only further underscore the need for inclusive, bipartisan legislation, and why United expressed such acute concern about the 11th hour changes to the SPEED Act during floor debate last week.”