The Trump administration plans to reconsider a permit issued to a large wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts, the latest move in its targeted campaign against the clean energy resource.
The US Interior Department intends to review the project’s approval issued in the waning days of the Biden administration, according to a filing by the Justice Department on Friday. The agency asked a federal court to pause the city of Nantucket’s challenge of the SouthCoast Wind development since the Trump administration intends to ask that the matter be sent back to the Interior Department for further action later this month.
In a filing, the administration said the stay of court proceedings would allow time for the court to rule on that so-called voluntary demand request.
The review comes amid a flurry of actions by the Trump administration to stymie the US offshore wind industry. On Friday, the Transportation Department said it was terminating or withdrawing $679 million in federal funding for projects intended to support the build out of offshore wind. That came on the heels of an order to halt work on the nearly-completed Revolution Wind farm being built off the coast of Rhode Island by Denmark’s Orsted A/S and the administration’s announcement it would seek to invalidate the permit for another wind project off the coast of Maryland.
The SouthCoast Wind farm is owned by Ocean Winds North America LLC, a joint venture between EDP Renewables and Engie. The project has the potential to produce over 2.4 gigawatts of power and is located over 30 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and 20 miles south of Nantucket.
Ocean Winds didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
With assistance from Ari Natter and Jennifer A. Dlouhy.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
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