Trump deals blow to future of local offshore wind projects
Greg Smith
As promised, President Donald Trump dealt a blow to the offshore wind industry on his first day in office Monday by signing an executive order that halts new leases for offshore wind farms in federal waters.
The impact locally is still unclear, but opponents view the move as a serious obstacle, creating uncertainty for future offshore wind projects.
Danish offshore wind developer Ørsted, which has a 10-year lease at the newly redeveloped State Pier in New London, announced Monday that its value had dipped $1.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024, citing rising costs for its U.S. projects and a delay in the development of Sunrise Wind.
The commissioning of Sunrise Wind, a 924-megawatt wind farm off the coast of Montauk, N.Y., and one of three offshore wind projects to be staged and shipped from State Pier, will be delayed until the second half of 2027, Ørsted said. A representative from Ørsted said the company is in the process of reviewing Trump's executive order "to assess the impact on our portfolio," but declined further comment.
Ørsted has used State Pier to stage offshore wind components for South Fork Wind and Revolution Wind. The latter is under construction off the coast of Rhode Island and will be the first and only wind farm to produce power for Connecticut.
Members of the Connecticut Port Authority Board of Directors, which owns State Pier and oversaw its $310 million reconstruction, met Tuesday for its regular monthly meeting. Trump’s position on offshore wind — and its possible effects locally — was only briefly alluded to during the meeting. Executive Director Michael O’Connor said he would continue exploring bringing new business to State Pier.
“If there’s a shift in what we do at State Pier, we’ll have to manage that,” he said.
Paul Whitescarver, the port authority's board chairman, said Gateway, the company hired to manage State Pier, has a vested interest in keeping the pier busy whether it is related to offshore wind or traditional cargo.
"As the President's Executive order was just issued last night, we want to review it and give it full consideration before making any statements. Regardless, State Pier in New London was rebuilt to accommodate a wider variety of general cargo in addition to offshore wind components," Whitescarver said in a statement.
American Clean Power Association CEO Jason Grumet, in a statement on Monday, said the trade association supports "Trump’s effort to reform the permitting process to speed the development of all forms of domestic energy production." But the organization, which advocates for renewable energy sources, "strongly opposes blanket measures to halt or impede development of domestic wind energy on federal lands and waters."
“Wind power is an essential element of our ability to serve soaring electricity demand for manufacturing and data centers that are key to national security. It is also playing a growing role in our energy systems in red and blue states across the country," Grumet said.
Kristin Urbach, executive director of the nonprofit Connecticut Wind Collaborative, said the group is reviewing Trump's executive order and "will refrain from making any speculative statements at this time."
Robin Shaffer, president of Protect Our Coast NJ, a group opposed to offshore wind projects, said in an interview Tuesday that his group is among a host of others "ecstatic that President Trump fulfilled his campaign promise regarding offshore wind."
"We believe this is the first step in moving away from this reckless, unreliable, unproven and unaffordable technology and moving us towards energy sources that are proven and sustainable and more environmentally friendly," Shaffer said.
Shaffer said he thinks Trump's executive order and others that could follow might serve to provide headwinds and uncertainty for future wind projects, some of which are in the permitting stages. Part of Trump's executive order pauses permitting for onshore and offshore wind farms while they are under review.
"Everything is in doubt right now," Shaffer said. With all of this doubt and uncertainty, does it make sense to pour millions, even billions of dollars, into these projects if ultimately there is going to be a stop work order?"
Ørsted CEO Mads Nipper said in a statement Monday that the setbacks to Ørsted are "very disappointing," but said the company remained committed to the U.S. market in the long term.
“We continue to navigate the complexities and uncertainties we face in a nascent offshore industry in the new U.S. market," Nipper said in the statement.
Joseph Villanova
EAST HARTFORD — State officials have allocated resources for the renovation of the Veterans Terrace housing development to the tune of an anticipated $25 million in financing and tax credits.
The state-sponsored 150-unit affordable housing project, located on Columbus Circle in East Hartford, has been under renovation for years by the East Hartford Housing Authority, which operates a handful of public housing projects in town.
The state Department of Housing and the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority announced Thursday direct financing and low-income housing tax credits to help get it across the finish line.
The town received a 50-year, $36 million loan in 2019 to demolish 42 old units and construct 45 new units at Veterans Terrace, and the complex was listed in the town's June 2023 affordable housing plan as in the midst of a $60 million redevelopment. The state Bond Commission granted $3 million to East Hartford in October 2023 for construction of a community facility at Veterans Terrace.
State officials said Veterans Terrace is on the "third and final phase" of its redevelopment, consisting of 51 units to be made affordable to households between 25% and 60% of the area median income.
The DOH announced it would provide $4.5 million in financing to the town's Housing Authority. CHFA said it will allocate tax credits that will generate $12.83 million in private investment along with $6.43 million in taxable bonds and $1 million from the authority's Opportunity Fund.
East Hartford officials said no municipal funding is included in the project.
The state assistance for Veterans Terrace is part of a package for eight municipalities and 658 housing units, 381 of which are deemed affordable for low- and moderate-income renters, totaling more than $21.8 million in loans and grants from the DOH and tax credits and financing from CHFA valued at $116.5 million.
Other developments receiving assistance from the DOH and CHFA include the Elle at North Main, a 49-unit mixed income rental community in West Hartford, and developments in Ansonia, Fairfield, New Britain, Rocky Hill, Stamford and Stratford.