By BENJAMIN STORROW, Politico
Offshore wind supporters are crying foul as President Donald Trump revokes permits, rolls back federal incentives and halts projects under construction along the East Coast.
But one New Jersey Republican would like Power Switch readers to know that the president has gotten it right.
In an interview, Rep. Jeff Van Drew echoed Trump’s arguments that offshore wind farms cost consumers money and threaten the environment (two contentions that wind supporters very much dispute). He said he’s pleased with the Interior Department’s recent actions, which have included stopping work on the nearly completed Revolution Wind project south of New England and proposing to rescind permits for three others.
Van Drew said he couldn’t answer the biggest question on the minds of offshore wind supporters and critics alike: whether Interior will issue more stop-work orders.
But he added, “My hope and my belief would be that they would find out what I believe to be true, that these projects are very, very problematic.”
‘The president was very clear’
Van Drew, a former Democrat who switched parties during Trump’s first term, rose to prominence as a wind critic while fighting Atlantic Shores, a massive project proposed almost 9 miles off the coast of Atlantic City. He argued the project would increase power prices, drive tourists from the Jersey Shore, and harm marine wildlife.
His view offers a stark contrast to Democratic Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, who told Power Switch last week that the Trump administration’s decision to stop work on Revolution Wind would lead to higher power prices, jeopardize the reliability of the electric grid and chill business investment in the U.S.
Van Drew pushed back against that idea Wednesday, calling offshore wind “very, very expensive” and arguing that developers took a calculated gamble when they chose to invest in the U.S.
“The president was very clear when campaigning that he was going to do this,” Van Drew continued. “It’s something that I asked for, and I believe in. In fact, we were a part of the process and worked with Interior on this. And I think the beaches and the oceans and the seafloor will be the better for it, and so will the country.”
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