President Donald Trump ordered a halt to new leases and permits for wind projects on his first day back in the White House.
In addition to temporarily suspending leases in the outer continental shelf, his executive order mandates a comprehensive environmental and economic review of the federal government’s leasing and permitting practices for all wind projects on federal lands and in federal waters.
Nearly all offshore wind projects are planned in federal waters.
In signing the order, the president cited “negative impacts on navigational safety interests, transportation interests, national security interests, commercial interests, and marine mammals” and the need to “maintain a robust fishing industry for future generations.”…