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Dear NRDC Supporter,
President Trump has repeatedly called wind turbines losers, but really, the Trump administration is the loser when it comes to their attempts to stop offshore wind projects in the United States. Literally. In the last month, the courts have ruled five times in favor of offshore wind projects targeted by the Trump administration. And the administration? Well, they’re currently sitting at zero wins.
Learn more about the Trump administration’s failed attempts to stop five fully permitted offshore wind projects — and why the fight isn’t over yet – on NRDC.org.
On day one of his new administration last year, President Trump halted all new leasing, permitting, and approvals for offshore wind energy. Then, in July, President Trump’s
“One Big Beautiful Bill” ended tax incentives for solar and wind projects by 2027. To add insult to injury, in December, the Department of Interior
issued stop-work orders that abruptly suspended construction on five fully permitted offshore wind projects along the East Coast. Some of these projects were in the final stages of construction and nearly complete.
But then, the Trump administration’s war on wind power hit a legal wall.
AN ABBREVIATED TIMELINE*
January 12, 2026: A federal judge rules the Revolution Wind project off the coast of Rhode Island can continue construction. Offshore wind: 1. Trump Administration: 0.
January 15, 2026: A (Trump-appointed) federal judge rules the Empire Wind project off the coast of Long Island can continue construction. Offshore wind: 2. Trump Administration: 0.
January 16, 2026: A federal judge rules the Virginia Coastal Offshore Wind project off the coast of Virginia can continue construction. Offshore wind: 3. Trump Administration: 0.
January 27, 2026: A federal judge rules the Vineyard Wind 1 project off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard can continue construction. Offshore wind: 4. Trump Administration: 0.
February 2, 2026: A federal judge rules the fifth and final offshore wind project affected by the December stop-work, Sunrise Wind off the coast of New York, can continue construction. Offshore wind: 5. Trump Administration: 0.
Learn more about these five projects and why the Trump administration keeps losing to offshore wind.
*This timeline does not include all of the Trump administration’s attempts to block offshore wind projects, including prior attempts (and failures) to stop work on some of the very same projects that just won again. This email would just get too long.
WHY OFFSHORE WIND MATTERS
The Trump administration has erroneously claimed that America is in an energy crisis. While that’s not true, we ARE in an affordability crisis — and all of their attacks on clean energy are hurting communities by denying us access to cheap, reliable renewable energy.
Huge swaths of the U.S. recently endured a deep freeze that increased demand for more electricity to heat homes, resulting in soaring electricity prices and power outages across the Southeast.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration tried to hold up almost complete offshore wind projects that collectively can power 2.5 million homes.
WHAT’S NEXT
NRDC is fighting the Trump administration’s attacks on clean energy in court on multiple fronts, including:
And while the developers of the five offshore wind projects listed above have notched legal wins, these decisions are only preliminary as their cases continue to wind through the courts. NRDC will be tracking these cases closely as we await final decisions from district court judges.
We also need your help. Congress can stop the Trump administration’s attacks on offshore wind. Send a letter to your representative and senators urging them to stand up for clean energy today.
Sincerely,
NRDC
P.S. One last thing we’d like to clear up: there’s no evidence that offshore wind harms whales. Read NRDC’s entire fact check here.
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