“Drill baby, drill.”
President Donald Trump made his support for fossil fuels very clear during his inauguration speech Monday.
Trump said he will declare a “national energy emergency” as one of his first acts as president, pledging to support the domestic production of fossil fuels.
“We will be a rich nation again and it is the liquid gold under our feet that will help us do it,” he said.
And, in one of his first acts, he signed an executive order withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement in which nations work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (The U.S. is one of four countries which are not part of the agreement, joining Iran, Libya and Yemen.)
How all of this impacts New Jersey’s offshore wind energy sector remains to be seen. After all, there’s no reason the country cannot drill for oil (it never stopped during the Biden administration) and build its offshore wind programs.
Nonetheless, many want to see the country halt its efforts in the ocean.
Congressman Jeff Van Drew (R-2nd District) has made his feelings on offshore wind clear. On Jan. 13, he announced he is “collaborating” with Trump on another executive order, one that would halt offshore wind projects along the East Coast, potentially laying the groundwork for permanent bans against the industry.
“These offshore wind projects should have never been approved in the first place,” Van Drew said. “The Biden administration rammed them through the approval process without proper oversight, transparent lease agreements, or a full understanding of their devastating consequences.”
On Friday, members of the N.J. Wind Works Coalition fought back against those opposed to clean energy programs – or at least issued very strong statements with potentially over-the-top rhetoric that cannot be verified.
The coalition is suggesting the oil and gas industry is behind the movement.
“Tone deaf pro-oil and gas MAGA republicans are having coordinated rallies as climate change fueled L.A. fires destroy communities, homes, businesses and burn people alive,” N.J. League of Conservation Voters Executive Director Ed Potosnak said.
“Oil and gas CEOs are pushing to eliminate competition from clean energy so they can rake in billions on the backs of hard-working Americans while they spew pollution from burning dirty oil and gas into the air increasing asthma, cancer and heart disease across New Jersey and the nation.
“Right now, solar is the cheapest energy source we have and soon wind will join these ranks cutting in on the oil and gas CEO’s profits. These anti-wind protests are nothing but astroturf front groups doing the dirty work of big oil and gas to stop progress towards a cheaper and cleaner energy future that saves lives.”
Jennifer Coffey, the executive director of the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commission, was equally aghast.
“The anti-science and disinformation campaign launched against renewable energy is frustrating and very dangerous,” she said. “Offshore wind has been in operation internationally for nearly 35 years. We know that offshore wind is clean energy. The offshore wind projects proposed for the east coast of the United States have been carefully planned for more than a decade with input from environmental and wildlife advocates, marine biologists and oceanographers, fisheries, technical and security experts.
“We know that climate change is rapidly warming the Atlantic Ocean, shifting currents and migration patterns, and is responsible for ocean acidification, dying shellfish beds, and catastrophic impacts on wildlife. The only better time to shift away from fossil fuel and to renewable energy resources was 10 years ago. The best available time to act to support renewable energy production is now.”
It’s unclear – and certainly unlikely – that their opposition will be heard.
Van Drew has made his feelings on offshore wind projects very clear.
“They are an economic and environmental disaster waiting to happen,” he said. “The Biden administration’s reckless green agenda put politics over people, and that ends now.”
The industry may be in the president’s hands now. Van Drew suggested how he feels the president will act.
“President Trump is committed to stopping these harmful projects and is taking decisive action,” he 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.”
