Unions Defend 15 GW of US Offshore Wind as Trump Cuts Outlook to 6 GW by 2035
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 23
Unions Defend 15 GW of US Offshore Wind as Trump Cuts Outlook to 6 GW by 2035
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 23
Summary
Labor coalitions say they have kept existing offshore wind jobs alive despite Trump administration stop-work orders, with courts allowing New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Virginia projects to resume or continue.
10 commercial-scale projects totaling more than 15 gigawatts had been approved by September 2024 under Biden, and unions used IRA-linked wage and apprenticeship rules to turn offshore wind into a source of union jobs.
Trump still hit future development hard: BloombergNEF cut its 2035 US offshore wind forecast to 6 gigawatts from 39 gigawatts, while the administration spent $2.7 billion canceling 12 leases in five deals.
2.6 million workers were brought into New York's original climate-jobs coalition, and CJNRC says it has since launched union climate coalitions in nine states by 2024 and added five states plus the UK this year.
Union leaders argue the immediate projects survived, but the bigger fight is preserving a domestic offshore wind supply chain and keeping clean-energy growth tied to high-wage union work.
With massive offshore wind leases being traded for refunds, what happens to the thousands of union jobs hanging in the balance?
Courts restarted stalled wind projects, but will lingering regulatory uncertainty permanently freeze future clean-energy career growth?
As states sue to stop developers from abandoning wind projects, who will ultimately control the future of the energy grid?
U.S. Offshore Wind in Crisis: The 56% Capacity Reduction, Legal Showdowns, and Global Clean Energy Setback
Overview
On January 20, 2025, President Trump launched a sweeping freeze on offshore wind leasing, triggering a cascade of regulatory actions that halted projects, blocked developer access to key databases, and imposed new rules designed to disadvantage wind and solar. This led to widespread legal challenges by states and developers, resulting in court victories that overturned the freeze and lifted project suspensions. Despite these wins, the administration shifted to buying out developers to permanently cancel projects, causing billions in lost investment, job cuts, and stalled local economies. The industry remains resilient but faces deep uncertainty as legal battles and administrative obstacles continue.