The following is attributable to Rob Freudenberg, Vice President, Energy & Environment:

Today’s irresponsible decision by the Trump Administration to pause leases for five offshore wind farms needlessly threatens both the affordability so many Americans need and our long-term security and safety, rooted in a reliable energy system. With projects that have the ability to provide nearly 6GW of power currently under construction along the East Coast–including three projects set to deliver 2.3 GW of power to New York and Connecticut by 2026–completing them is vital to ensuring reliability, lowering electric rates, and moving us away from climate-disrupting fossil fuels. Having already invested billions of federal, state, and local taxpayer dollars–in partnership with billions more in private dollars–into these projects, not allowing them to be completed would be an astounding example of government waste at the taxpayers’ expense.

Further, eliminating these new sources of utility-scale power within a year of them coming online presents a significant threat to the health and well-being of everyday residents and businesses in our region and beyond. At a time when the federal government is clearing the way for power-hungry data centers to be constructed at a rapid pace, while grid managers warn about shortfalls in reliable energy, these projects are essential for providing the electricity we need to power homes, businesses, hospitals, and critical infrastructure. There are no alternative energy projects ready to build to take their place, putting our region unnecessarily at risk and ensuring that utility rates will continue to rise, making life in our region even less affordable.

Courts have already found the Trump Administration’s efforts to halt offshore wind to be ​“arbitrary and capricious” and in violation of federal law. The decision today continues the Administration’s illegal and misguided attempt to eliminate clean energy resources that benefit consumers and only serves to hurt Americans, all of whom rely on basic services that the government is charged with protecting. Even if this latest act of federal overreach is eventually overturned by the courts, the cost of delay–including reduced reliability and higher utility bills–is far too steep. This action should be reversed immediately.