President-elect Donald Trump is working with former Democrat and current Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) to draft an executive order halting offshore wind turbine production off the East Coast and setting the stage for further restrictions, the congressman said Monday.
[RELATED: Biden-Harris Admin Set to Auction 850,000 Acres in Gulf of Maine for Offshore Wind Development…]
“These offshore wind projects should have never been approved in the first place. The Biden administration rammed them through the approval process without proper oversight, transparent lease agreements, or a full understanding of their devastating consequences. They are an economic and environmental disaster waiting to happen. The Biden administration’s reckless green agenda put politics over people, and that ends now,” said Rep. Van Drew in a Monday press release.
“President Trump is committed to stopping these harmful projects and is taking decisive action. This executive order is just the beginning. We will fight tooth and nail to prevent this offshore wind catastrophe from wreaking havoc on the hardworking people who call our coastal towns home,” he added.
Van Drew believes that the executive order will be finalized within a few months of Trump’s inauguration, and he hopes that a temporary halt on offshore wind on the East Coast will lead to permanent restrictions.
Two days after Van Drew’s press release, Trump announced his plan to ensure an end to costly and inefficient offshore wind projects and expressed a hope that not one new turbine is built during his time in office.
“Windmills are an economic and environmental disaster. I don’t want even one built during my Administration. The thousands of dead and broken ones should be ripped down ASAP. Most expensive energy, only work with massive government subsidies, which we will no longer pay,” said Trump on Truth Social.
Democrats, from President Joe Biden to Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D), have long championed offshore wind turbines as a “renewable” alternative to fossil fuels, while ignoring the economic and environmental costs of the projects.
While Gov. Mills has tried, and thus far failed, to develop the historically untouched Sears Island in service of offshore wind projects, she has downplayed or ignored the negative environmental costs of offshore turbines.
[RELATED: ‘Unmitigated Carbon Super-Polluters:’ The Truth About Offshore Wind…]
In an op-ed for the Maine Wire, state Rep. Regan Paul (R-Winterport) pointed out that wind turbine production requires mining, construction, and extensive maintenance, all carbon-producing activities.
After a turbine is decommissioned, it becomes “forever waste” because the fiberglass used to produce the turbine blades poses an environmental hazard.
According to Rep. Paul, projections of reduced carbon emissions assume that the turbines will last 20-30 years, while in reality, offshore turbines deteriorate far more quickly. She cited a Scottish farm set to be out of commission for months, requiring major renovations after just seven years.
Last summer, a turbine from the Vineyard Wind farm off the coast of Nantucket, Mass., broke off, spreading environmentally hazardous fiberglass fragments into the ocean and forcing local beaches to close.
Wind turbines also have the potential to devastate the fishing and lobstering industries by making essential fishing spots unworkable.
Researchers have noticed a significant uptick in beached whales in areas with offshore wind turbines, though many scientists continue to maintain that there is no link between the wind farms and an increase in dead whales.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="34094 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=34094">7 Comments
Good!… that will put a bumble bee up Janis Mills bung hole
On Monday there will be a New Sheriff in Town. Let us back him with letters and calls to our Representatives and Senators so that he can build the team of advisers he needs.
Great! And all the grant money that was allocated for these monstrosities should go towards reducing the debt.
Told ya this was gonna happen .
Better late than never !
MAGA
Good move Trump. Helps the lobster men and puts a dent in Angus King’s plans for failed wind power
Make the view great again! Janet take notice and learn to play chess.
Make Angus and his minions pay to remove them and figure out a useful recycling program for all that wasteful pollution.
Thank you President Trump. Nuclear is the way to go , smaller and uninterrupted power.