Trump Administration Cuts $679 Million in Offshore Wind Funding
- $427 million for California’s Humboldt Bay offshore wind terminal revoked, halting Pacific Coast’s first such project
- Grants for offshore wind hubs in Maryland, New York, and Massachusetts also cut, jeopardizing jobs and investment
- State leaders warn cancellations undermine clean energy progress and shift economic opportunities abroad
The Trump administration has canceled $679 million in federal funding for 12 offshore wind projects, a move that effectively derails several cornerstone initiatives launched under the Biden administration’s clean energy agenda.
The cuts include $427 million for a marine terminal in Humboldt County, California, intended to be the first offshore wind terminal on the Pacific coast. The site was slated to revive a defunct facility for turbine assembly and staging.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy defended the decision, calling the awards “a waste of funds that could otherwise go towards revitalizing America’s maritime industry.”
State officials condemned the cancellations. A spokesperson for California Governor Gavin Newsom said the move amounted to the Trump administration “assaulting clean energy and infrastructure projects – hurting business and killing jobs in rural areas, and ceding our economic future to China.”
The Department of Transportation also canceled grants of $47 million for a Maryland offshore wind hub near the Port of Baltimore, $48 million for a Staten Island terminal in New York, and $33 million for redeveloping a port site in Salem, Massachusetts.
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Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey warned of immediate consequences: “The real waste here is the Trump administration canceling tens of millions of dollars for a project that is already under way to increase our energy supply.” She added the decision would cost 800 construction workers their jobs.
The administration is also reviewing offshore wind projects approved along the Atlantic coast, following two major project cancellations last year.
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