The move by the French oil and gas giant is one of the first tangible signs of a halt in investment in renewable power sources attributed to the incoming US administration. — Bloomberg
NEW YORK: TotalEnergies SE has halted development of an offshore wind farm it plans to build off the coast of New York, as US President-elect Donald Trump signalled he’ll obstruct the green industry championed by his predecessor.
“Offshore wind, I have decided to put the project on pause” with Trump’s return, Total chief executive officer Patrick Pouyanne said at an energy industry conference in London on Tuesday.
The move by the French oil and gas giant is one of the first tangible signs of a halt in investment in renewable power sources attributed to the incoming US administration.
Trump, a frequent critic of wind power, said during the presidential campaign that he would target the offshore wind industry with an executive action on his first day in office.
It’s unclear how far Trump would go, though analysts have said the president-elect is likely to pause offshore wind lease sales and permitting of new ventures, like Total’s planned Attentive Energy project near New York and New Jersey.
Total’s decision may be a sign of things to come, said Timothy Fox, managing director of the Washington-based research firm ClearView Energy Partners.
“Amid the changing political landscape, we are not surprised to see a developer pause an offshore wind project that’s in the preliminary stages of development,” he said. “We think other projects that are not in the advanced stages could stall too.”
Outgoing president Joe Biden vowed to create a US offshore wind industry that reaches 30 gigawatts by the end of the decade.
Soaring costs and supply chain issues have made reaching that goal unlikely. Under Trump, additional progress could slow, since new and pending projects require federal sign off.
Total’s Attentive Energy, off the New Jersey and New York coasts, has the potential to generate 3,000 megawatts.
The company previously said it anticipated the project would begin generating emission-free energy by the early 2030s.
The company won the rights to develop the area of seabed in a record-setting auction in 2022.
Attentive Energy had not yet filed a proposed construction and operations plan with Interior Department regulators in charge of vetting offshore wind projects.
Those federal permitting reviews typically stretch for at least three years.
By holding on to its lease, Total preserves the opportunity to resume work on the project after Trump’s four-year term ends.
Meanwhile, domestic supply chains may continue to build up to serve other fully permitted wind farms planned along the US East Coast.
Total could revive its project if a more environmentally friendly president takes office in the future, according to Pouyanne.
“I said to my team, the project in New York, we’ll see that in four years,” he said. “But the advantage is it’s only for four years.” — Bloomberg
