01/21/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/21/2025 14:18
Bianca Sanchez, [email protected]
WILMINGTON, Del. - On the first day of his Presidency, Donald Trump announced he is halting development of all offshore wind projects across the United States. Right now, there are enough offshore wind projects in development in the United States to power over six million homes once completed.
Last year, Delaware finally made headway on welcoming this industry into our great state, along with all the jobs, clean energy, and other environmental and economic benefits it can bring about on the Delmarva peninsula. With the help of a broad coalition of partners and stakeholders, state elected officials, and regulators, Delaware created a responsible, affordable, and pragmatic approach to improving the health of our regional grid, protecting ratepayers, and providing clean energy to hundreds of thousands of Delawareans. With one stroke of his pen, President Trump has stolen that opportunity from our state and many states in our region.
By stopping ongoing projects, Trump has cancelled the 77,000 stable, high-paying jobs created by President Biden within the offshore wind sector. Additionally, offshore wind is a reliable source of energy that would lower energy bills for families, and drastically reduce toxic air and water pollution caused by dirty fossil fuels.
Donald Trump's ban on offshore wind will take jobs away from hard-working Americans, raise monthly energy bills, hurt coastal communities, and expose people to more deadly pollution.
"We were on the cusp of something great here in Delaware," said Dustyn Thompson, Director for the Sierra Club Delaware Chapter. "We found a path forward with broad, cross-sector support for a Delaware offshore wind project that would have benefited our entire region. We are facing an energy crisis, but renewable energy isn't to blame. The energy crisis is being caused by actions like those of President Trump yesterday and his followers here in Delaware over the past few weeks, shutting down responsible, clean energy development all across our region."
"By banning offshore wind, Trump is kneecapping a critical contributor to our grid," said Xavier Boatright, Sierra Club Deputy Legislative Director for Clean Energy and Electrification. "Offshore wind is cheaper, safer, and more reliable than fossil fuels, yet Donald Trump has once again sold out the American people in order to boost profits for his buddies in the fossil fuel industry. As our country faces increasing energy demands and a worsening climate crisis, now is not the time to pump the brakes on offshore wind. We are ready to fight back against this callous decision that will raise prices for our communities, take away jobs, and worsen the state of our environment."
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.