US watchdog highlights flaws with offshore wind permitting regime amid Trump peril

A US government spending watchdog published findings of its inquiry into offshore wind that revealed gaps in the federal permitting regime and offered suggestions for future development that is increasingly doubtful amid Trump’s hostility.

At the time, former President Joe Biden’s administration was issuing a steady drumbeat of project approvals that eventually reached nearly 19GW in 11 arrays, which critics contended was too much, too fast. The Biden administration had set a target of 30GW by 2030, up from 42MW.

“Because it is early in US deployment of commercial offshore wind projects, the extent of some impacts is unknown,” wrote GAO.

Its report found regulators fell short in stakeholder engagement particularly with fisheries and indigenous Tribes and offered recommendations for improving their approaches.

Among GAO’s recommendations were for key regulators Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) to concentrate resources where development is ongoing along the East Coast.

BOEM leads project permitting and development while BSEE oversees environmental and safety issues.

“BOEM and BSEE have not taken all necessary steps to ensure that they have the resources in place to conduct effective oversight and engagement with stakeholders,” the report said.

“Without taking steps to ensure they have sufficient resources to oversee development in the North Atlantic region, including by establishing a physical office there, BOEM and BSEE cannot ensure that they can effectively address potential impacts, engage with stakeholders, and oversee implementation of lease requirements,” said GAO.

GAO's recommendations may be for naught, though, as the industry grapples with the enormity of President Donald Trump’s anti-wind memorandum.

Good to his word, Trump's anti-wind order issued on his first day in office put moratoriums on new leasing and permitting while placing existing projects up for review with the goal of termination or modification.

In response to GAO's recommendation about agencies opening offices in the Northeast, Walter Cruickshank, assistant secretary of the Interior for Land and Minerals Management, wrote: “‘Sufficient resources’” are dependent on the effect to which offshore wind development is consistent with the Presidential Memorandum.”

“Whether existing resources are sufficient will depend on the reviews conducted pursuant” to Trump’s order, Cruickshank added.

Around 6GW of capacity is in at-sea installation, including Orsted's 704MW Revolution split between Connecticut and Rhode Island, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners-Avangrid's 800MW Vineyard Wind to Massachusetts, and Dominion Energy's 2.6GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind array.

These projects are widely seen as continuing, despite all of them facing litigation.