The French energy giant is scrapping plans to build offshore wind farms near the New York and New Jersey coastline following President-elect Donald Trump's victory earlier this month.
Total Energy, the Paris-based oil and gas conglomerate, announced it was canceling the project in what industry officials say is a foreshadowing of things to come under the second Trump administration.
Total CEO Patrick Pouyanne told a news conference in London on Tuesday that in response to Trump's return, “we have decided to temporarily suspend our offshore wind project.” His comment is Bloomberg News reported.
Pouyanne said the company plans to revisit the project in four years, when U.S. political winds could change again.
“I told my team that the New York project will happen within four years,” he said, according to Bloomberg News. “But the advantage is that it's only for four years.”
Atento Energy, a subsidiary of Total, will spend a total of $4.37 billion in 2022 to build offshore wind farms in New York Bay, the body of water surrounding New Jersey's coastline that stretches from Cape May Bay to Montauk Point. It was one of six companies. Located on the eastern tip of Long Island.
The proposed project is still in its early stages, as both companies recently acquired lease rights from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, a federal agency under the Department of the Interior.
Many of the biggest offshore wind companies took the election results in stride, pledging to work with President Trump and Congress to build power projects, ignoring the president-elect's often expressed hostility.
Trump has railed against offshore wind on the campaign trail, promising to sign an executive order to block such projects.
“We're going to make sure it's done on day one,” President Trump said in a speech in May.
“We're going to write it into an executive order. It'll be done on day one.”
“They destroy everything. It's horrible and it's the most expensive energy,” Trump said. “They destroy the environment, they kill birds, they kill whales.”
About 65 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity is under development in the U.S., enough to power more than 26 million homes, and some turbines are already spinning in several states, according to the U.S. Clean Power Association. It is said that they are doing so.
Projects currently in operation include the Block Island Wind Farm in Rhode Island, the Virginia Coastal Offshore Wind Test Project, and the South Fork Wind Farm located approximately 55 miles east of Montauk Point.
Trump is unlikely to cancel these projects, but he could have more influence over those still in the planning stages, debate officials said.
Timothy Fox, managing director of Clearview Energy Partners, a Washington-based research firm, told Bloomberg News that “as the political climate changes, developers are increasing the number of offshore wind farms in the pre-development stage.'' I wouldn't be surprised if the project was canceled.”
“We believe that other projects that are not in advanced stages may also be stalled.”
Meanwhile, the outgoing Biden administration is spending billions on clean energy and approving large offshore wind projects, as officials secure major climate action before the end of President Joe Biden's term. I'm in a hurry.
BOEM last month approved the Maryland Offshore Wind Project in September, the nation's 10th large-scale offshore wind farm, reaching the halfway point of Mr. Biden's goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030.
On October 1, a government agency granted key approval to an offshore wind project in New Jersey.
with post wire
