Call it The Art of the Deal: Offshore Wind Edition.
President Donald Trump won a high-profile victory in his anti-wind campaign this week when Ocean Winds agreed to give two of its offshore wind leases back to the Interior Department. But the deal notably excluded the developer’s third lease — the one most likely to result in a project.
SouthCoast Wind is one of four projects permitted by the Biden administration that has yet to start construction. Court documents show that Ocean Winds has already sunk more than $600 million into making it a reality.
The deal between Ocean Winds and Interior says a lot about the state of Trump’s war on wind. Trump has failed to stop projects under construction, but succeeded in coaxing companies without permits to give back wind leases.
