US seeks court cancellation of Maryland offshore wind permit

The United States federal government has asked a court to cancel the permit for the Maryland offshore wind project in Ocean City. Wind power has a significantly large target on its back, and the Trump administration is ready to take the shot. Under the Biden administration, several wind power projects received accelerated permits and significant support from the government, which aimed to transition America away from fossil fuels towards the renewable energy sector. However, all that progress has been rolled back by the Trump Presidency.

Trump really hates wind power, but the question is, why does he feel so strongly about it

The evidence suggests that Donald Trump is not a fan of wind power. One questions what the motivation for that disdain is; some have speculated it’s more personal than any of us might think.

Trump raised concerns when his golf course in Aberdeen, Scotland, had its picture-perfect horizon spoiled by a wind farm that the Scottish government built on the shores of Aberdeen.

Whether that is the root cause of the Trump administration’s negative view of wind power is anyone’s guess. Regardless, the Trump-led administration has asked a federal judge to intervene to halt the construction of the offshore wind project in Maryland.

The Trump administration has formally requested that the permit for U.S. Wind’s project be vacated

The US government filed a motion with a federal judge to ask the court to vacate the permits given to the Maryland offshore wind project by the Biden administration. The Trump administration already filed a motion to revoke the permit in August, signalling its intention to roll back the progress being made in the wind power sector.

US Wind, the owner and operator of the offshore wind project in Maryland, filed a counterclaim in court that states the company believes “federal officials were pressured by politicians, including the president, his appointees, members of Congress, and opponents of offshore wind, to cancel renewable energy projects.”

And they may have a point. The Trump administration withdrew $47 million in funding for a steel marshalling port at Sparrows Point that was expected to support turbine construction. The current Interior Secretary, Doug Burgum, who is a trump appointee, we might add, laid out the government’s view on wind power.

“Under this administration, there is not a future for offshore wind because it is too expensive and not reliable enough.” – United States Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum

Industry experts have pushed back on the Trump administration’s motion to vacate the permits for the Maryland wind project

The Oceantic Network, an offshore wind industry group, has raised its concerns over the Trump administration’s motion filed with a federal court, stating the administration is unfairly targeting previously approved projects.

“The unlawful actions by the Trump administration against fully permitted offshore wind projects up and down the East Coast represent one of the largest, economically devastating assaults on U.S. workers, businesses, and energy in decades. Revoking a permit on an approved project after years of thorough agency review will raise electricity prices for families, jeopardize private investment, delay economic growth, and weaken our power grid.” – Liz Burdock, CEO of the Oceantic Network

Will the federal court judge side with the Trump administration

The overarching expectation is that the federal judge in the case will side with the Trump administration and vacate the permits given to US Wind to build the wind project just off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland. Which rolls back decades of progress being made in the sector. Several countries all around the globe have massive wind projects on the go, which can deliver huge amounts of vital energy to their citizens. Time will tell what the result of the issue in Maryland might be.