September 3, 2025 — President Donald Trump’s fight against offshore wind has escalated this summer, with more than one dozen agency actions in the last two months alone — the latest of which has stopped a project in its tracks.
The Trump administration has significantly truncated the window to receive multimillion dollar tax credits. It’s issued new Treasury guidance that redefines what it means to start project construction (in order to access those credits). It has imposed 50% tariffs on wind turbine imports. And it has mandated reviews of offshore wind projects by several agencies, including the Justice Department.
Some of the impacts have been quick and clear, illustrated through LinkedIn layoff posts, the return of ships to port (temporarily barred from undertaking the contracted work), project delays, and union laborers protesting the loss of work that they trained for.
Since Trump ordered a freeze on all offshore wind projects permitting on his first day in office, the industry has remained largely silent, deferring to states, lobbyists and organizations to come to its defense. Several of these state allies will return to federal court in Boston on Thursday, where they’ll argue that the permitting freeze is illegal and must be lifted.
“I would say my biggest concern and one that has borne out is this really unfortunate and deep shake to market confidence of the sector writ large,” said Kris Ohleth, director of the Special Initiative for Offshore Wind, on the administration’s treatment of the industry. “From the offshore wind developers down through the supply chain are more and more skeptical with each of these actions that the U.S. is a place for them to do business.”
Bill White, an offshore wind industry veteran, didn’t mince words: The industry is in “dire straits” because of the uncertainty created by the administration.