Trump administration targets ports in latest anti-offshore wind action

The Transportation Secretary claimed the action “will ensure federal dollars are prioritised towards restoring America’s maritime dominance and preventing waste.”

He said wind projects “are using resources that could otherwise go towards revitalising America’s maritime industry.”

Secretary Sean Duffy claimed that former President Joe Biden and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg “bent over backwards” to use transportation dollars for what he described as “their Green New Scam agenda while ignoring the dire needs of our shipbuilding industry.

“Thanks to President Trump, we are prioritising real infrastructure improvements over wind projects that cost much and offer little,” he further claimed.

Mr Duffy said the Trump Administration “has refocused the Department of Transportation (USDOT) and its Maritime Administration (MARAD) on rebuilding America’s shipbuilding capacity, unleashing more reliable, traditional forms of energy, and utilising the nation’s bountiful natural resources to unleash American energy.” He said that, where possible, funding from the projects will be recompeted to address port upgrades and other core infrastructure needs of the US.

As part of the Department of Transportation’s review of all discretionary grant programmes with obligated and unobligated projects, the USDOT identified 12 offshore wind grants and project selections that were not aligned with the goals and priorities of the administration, which has unveiled a slew of actions against the renewable energy industry.

As a result, the USDOT has withdrawn one project in the Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects (INFRA) programme, resulting in a total retraction of approximately US$427M.

MARAD has withdrawn six projects and terminated five within its Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP), resulting in a total retraction of US$177M and approximately US$75M, respectively.

The projects for which funding has been withdrawn include: the Sparrows Point Steel Marshalling Port Project (PIDP - US$47,392,500); Bridgeport Port Authority Operations and Maintenance Wind Port Project (PIDP – US$10,530,000); Wind Port at Paulsboro (PIDP – US$20,494,025); Arthur Kill Terminal (PIDP – US$48,008,231); Gateway Upgrades for Access, Resiliency & Development at the Port of Davisville Project (PIDP - US$11,250,000); Norfolk Offshore Wind Logistics Port (PIDP - US$39,265,000); Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind (INFRA - US$426,719,810).

Projects that have been terminated include: Redwood Marine Terminal Project Planning (PIDP - US$8,672,986); Salem Wind Port Project (PIDP – US$33,835,953); Lake Erie Renewable Energy Resilience Project (PIDP - US$11,051,586); Radio Island Rail Improvements in Support of Offshore Wind (PIDP – US$1,679,604); and PMT Offshore Wind Development (PIDP - $20,000,000).