U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island have issued a joint statement criticizing the Trump Administration’s recent decision to halt five offshore wind farm projects that were under construction. The senators, who serve as ranking members on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Environment and Public Works Committee respectively, said this move adds to a backlog of onshore solar and wind energy projects awaiting approval from the Department of Interior.
In their statement, Heinrich and Whitehouse expressed appreciation for Chairs Capito and Lee’s efforts in negotiating a permitting reform bill aimed at reducing electricity prices nationwide. They stated: “We want to thank Chairs Capito and Lee for their good-faith efforts to negotiate a permitting reform bill that would have lowered electricity prices for all Americans. There was a deal to be had that would have taken politics out of permitting, made the process faster and more efficient, and streamlined grid infrastructure improvements nationwide.”
The senators argued that any agreement on permitting reform would require administration by the Trump Administration, which they accused of undermining renewable energy development. “But any deal would have to be administered by the Trump Administration. Its reckless and vindictive assault on wind energy doesn’t just undermine one of our cheapest, cleanest power sources, it wrecks the trust needed with the executive branch for bipartisan permitting reform. By sabotaging U.S. energy innovation and killing American jobs, the Trump Administration has made clear that it is not interested in permitting reform. It will own the higher electricity prices, increasingly decrepit infrastructure, and loss of competitiveness that result from its reckless policies.”
They further called for an end to what they described as illegal actions against permitted renewable projects: “The illegal attacks on fully permitted renewable energy projects must be reversed if there is to be any chance that permitting talks resume. There is no path to permitting reform if this administration refuses to follow the law.”
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