Four offshore wind projects are currently under development in the U.S., but following Trump’s January executive order for the review of offshore wind permitting and leasing, which effectively halted new project development, energy companies are concerned about the future of the U.S. wind industry.
Progress in U.S. Offshore Wind Development
The U.S. is finally developing its offshore wind industry, after years of delayed and failed projects, helping to further progress the green transition that former President Biden was pursuing. The wind industry has faced a multitude of challenges in getting offshore wind farms up and running in the U.S., including financial constraints and equipment failures.
In 2024, it was predicted that the U.S. would invest around $65 billion in offshore wind by the end of the decade, supporting roughly 56,000 jobs. In August, there was around 56 GW of wind energy under development across 37 leases, capable of powering around 22 million homes. Around 14 GW of this offshore wind capacity was expected to be up and running by 2030, 30 GW by 2033, and 40 GW by 2035.
Four Offshore Wind Projects
There are four offshore wind projects currently being developed in the U.S.; Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, Ørsted’s Sunrise Wind project off the coast of New York and the Revolution Wind project off Rhode Island, and Equinor’s Empire Wind 1 in New York.
The U.S. firm Dominion Energy is currently developing a 2.6-gigawatt (GW) project in Virginia that is expected to provide up to 660,000 households with clean electricity once operational in 2026. Its existing two wind turbines were the first to be installed in U.S. federal waters and are expected to cut carbon emissions by up to 25,000 tons annually.
As Dominion Energy continues with project development, there are concerns about the potential rising costs associated with President Trump’s sweeping tariffs. Should these tariffs remain in place at the current level through the end of the next quarter, Dominion could incur additional costs of up to $120 million. If the tariffs continue into 2026, by the end of the project’s development these extra costs could rise to $500 million, according to estimates.
Major Danish wind energy company Ørsted has two offshore wind projects in the works; the 924-megawatt (MW) Sunrise Wind project in New York and the 704-megawatt Revolution Wind in Rhode Island.
Sunrise is expected to power almost 600,000 homes with clean energy and help New York build a carbon-free electric grid by 2040, as well as create over 800 direct jobs and thousands more indirect jobs. Ørsted has invested over $700 million in the project to date.
Revolution is expected to provide 304 MW of clean energy to Connecticut and 400 MW to Rhode Island, supporting the creation of over 1,200 direct construction jobs. The company has so far invested $100 million in the project.
Norway’s state-owned energy company Equinor is also developing its Empire Wind 1 project off the coast of New York. The $2.5 billion development is expected to provide clean power for around 500,000 homes upon its launch in 2027. The company has already spent $2 billion on the project, which is nearly a third complete, according to reports.
However, in April, the Trump administration ordered an “unprecedented’ halt to the development of Empire Wind 1. The project had been approved under the Biden administration in 2023 as part of plans to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy to decarbonize the U.S. economy.
Construction on Empire commenced last year and around 1,500 workers were employed on the project. The stop-work order surprised many in the industry who thought that projects that had already been approved would not be affected by Trump’s industry review.
The New Unknown
On his first day in office, President Trump signed an executive order restricting the development of new wind energy projects. It directed agencies to stop all permits for wind farms pending federal review. This was not expected to have an impact on projects that had already been approved, although the halting of operations at Empire has concerned developers.
Anders Opedal, the CEO of Equinor, stated, “We have invested in Empire Wind after obtaining all necessary approvals, and the order to halt work now is unprecedented and in our view unlawful. We seek to engage directly with the US administration to clarify the matter and are considering our legal options.” Meanwhile, the New York State Energy Authority said the decision was fuelled by “a shortsighted, political agenda”.
Since the halt, Equinor has said that it is considering its legal options in response to the government decision. It remains uncertain whether Equinor will be permitted to complete its offshore wind project and what impact the delays will have on its scheduled 2027 launch.
In addition to causing widespread delays and uncertainty across the U.S. wind sector, energy companies are now concerned that Trump’s attack on wind may not only affect new developments but could halt already approved operations. This is expected to prompt several energy companies to reassess plans for new operations and expansions, and potentially look to develop operations elsewhere.
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