April 27, 2026 — New Jersey ratepayers will foot the bill for unfinished construction as the state abandons massive offshore wind energy plans as a result of President Donald Trump’s attacks on the industry.
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) on Wednesday officially ended an agreement with grid operator PJM to create infrastructure for offshore wind farms that have no future after Trump’s policy changes.
Brian Lipman, director of the New Jersey Division of Rate Counsel, which serves as a public advocate for ratepayers, said in an interview that ratepayers will be on the hook for reimbursing companies that began construction for projects to prepare the grid for offshore wind energy. He said the price tag could be between $400 million and $500 million.
“My intention is to fight it. I just don’t know how successful I’ll be,” he said.
The BPU argues its decision is saving money for New Jerseyans since the price tag of actually completing the projects would have been much higher. The board’s commissioners blame the Trump administration for the downfall of the offshore wind industry in the state.
Trump has long detested offshore wind, and in January, Trump signed an executive order pausing federal leases for wind projects — which are required for offshore construction — though federal courts rejected his efforts to stop projects underway.
But the damage had already been done in Jersey, where offshore wind projects were still in their early stages, said Allison McLeod, the interim executive director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters.
“Here, it just made the environment really difficult for offshore wind to proceed because we were not at the stage of any projects that were delivering power,” she said.