EPA begins targeting offshore wind permits, slowing clean energy rollout
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has revoked a key permit for a New Jersey offshore wind project, marking the agency’s first major action under President Trump’s order to halt the expansion of the offshore wind industry.
Clare Fieseler reports for Canary Media.
In short:
- The EPA revoked a Clean Air Act permit from the Atlantic Shores wind project, citing a Trump executive order to reassess the offshore wind sector.
- Anti-wind groups are now targeting other projects, including Vineyard Wind in Massachusetts, by filing similar petitions that argue EPA failed to properly estimate emissions during turbine construction.
- EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is reshaping the agency with proposals to slash funding, eliminate regulations, and reframe the agency's mission around economic affordability, raising concerns about politicization of previously independent environmental review processes.
Key quote:
“Atlantic Shores is disappointed by the EPA’s decision to pull back its fully executed permit as regulatory certainty is critical to deploying major energy projects.”
— Terence Kelly, spokesperson for Atlantic Shores, a wind project slated offshore of the New Jersey coast
Why this matters:
The EPA’s shift under President Trump threatens to derail the offshore wind industry at a time when several coastal states are depending on it to meet emissions targets and stabilize power grids. Offshore wind farms require a tangle of federal permits to proceed, and even projects that already secured those approvals are now vulnerable to reversal. The revocation of Atlantic Shores’ permit may signal broader challenges for renewable energy under a federal administration skeptical of climate-driven energy reforms. The move threatens to ripple well beyond any single installation; it challenges the regulatory continuity that developers need to commit billions in long-term infrastructure.
Related: Opinion: Trump allies aim to take U.S. energy policy back in time
