Trump Executive Order Will Stop NJ Offshore Wind, Van Drew Says

NEW JERSEY — Rep. Jeff Van Drew (NJ-02) says he's drafting an executive order with President-elect Donald Trump that will immediately halt offshore wind activities and lay groundwork for stopping them permanently.

"These offshore wind projects should have never been approved in the first place," Van Drew said in a news release. "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."

Trump has said previously that he would put an end to offshore wind. Just last week, he claimed that wind turbines "obviously" kill whales, though there has not been any scientific proof of this happening.

"At this point, there is no scientific evidence that noise resulting from offshore wind site characterization surveys could potentially cause whale deaths," NOAA said. "There are no known links between large whale deaths and ongoing offshore wind activities."

Trump indicated that under his administration, no windmills will be built. Instead, his administration will embrace oil drilling, after President Joe Biden announced that oil and natural gas drilling is now banned in federal waters along the entire Atlantic coast, along with most of the Pacific coast and parts of the Gulf of Mexico.

"The Biden administration's reckless green agenda put politics over people, and that ends now. President Trump is committed to stopping these harmful projects and is taking decisive action," Van Drew said. "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."