US President Trump Issues Executive Order Suspending Offshore Wind Leasing

January 21, 2025, by Adrijana Buljan

US President Donald Trump has issued an Executive Order pausing offshore wind leasing on the US Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and mandating a review of the federal government’s leasing and permitting practices for wind projects. The Order also stops all relevant agencies from issuing approvals, either new or renewed, for both onshore and offshore wind projects until the review is completed.

“Under the authority granted to me in section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 1341(a), I hereby withdraw from disposition for wind energy leasing all areas within the Offshore Continental Shelf (OCS) as defined in section 2 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 1331. This withdrawal shall go into effect beginning on January 21, 2025, and shall remain in effect until this Presidential Memorandum is revoked”, US President Donald Trump states in the Executive Order issued on 20 January.

According to Section 1 of the document, the withdrawal of the OCS areas under the Order does not apply to leasing related to other purposes, including oil, gas, minerals, and environmental conservation, and it does not affect rights under existing leases in the withdrawn areas.

However, for existing leases, the Executive Order instructs the Secretary of the Interior to perform “a comprehensive review of the ecological, economic, and environmental necessity of terminating or amending any existing wind energy leases, identifying any legal bases for such removal, and submit a report with recommendations to the President, through the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy.”

Section 2 of the Executive Order discontinues the issuance of new or renewed approvals, rights of way, permits, leases, or loans for onshore and offshore wind projects until “a comprehensive assessment and review of Federal wind leasing and permitting practices” is completed.

The assessment and review will be led by the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Secretary of Energy, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

“The assessment shall consider the environmental impact of onshore and offshore wind projects upon wildlife, including, but not limited to, birds and marine mammals. The assessment shall also consider the economic costs associated with the intermittent generation of electricity and the effect of subsidies on the viability of the wind industry”, the Executive Order reads.

After the White House issued the Executive Order, Liz Burdock, founder and CEO of the US offshore renewable energy industry organisation, Oceantic Network, said: “Today’s executive order pausing offshore wind leasing and permitting is a blow to the American offshore wind industry and hurts the hundreds of U.S. supply chain companies and thousands of workers already building more American energy. While under a National Energy Emergency created by an unprecedented rise in energy demand, we should be working to quickly bring generation online instead of curtailing a power source capable of providing base load generation and creating new jobs across 40 states”.

US Offshore Wind Supply Chain Spans 40 States, Report Says

Supply Chain

“Today’s actions threaten to strand $25 billion already flowing into new ports, vessels, and manufacturing centers, and curtail future investments across our country. We urge the administration to reverse this sweeping action and keep America working in offshore energy as part of its commitment to an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy. We invite President Trump, his administration, and Congressional leaders to visit our member’s factories, training centers, and projects to meet their dedicated workers and see the emerging American energy production in action”, Liz Burdock said.