House Natural Resources Republicans harangued an Interior Department official Wednesday over whether offshore wind is a reliable source of energy off the nation’s coasts.
One of several hearings on the House GOP’s “energy week” agenda, the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee meeting explored a wide range of complaints about the Biden administration’s push for offshore wind power — and that industry’s environmental impacts — while also lambasting the White House for not understanding the importance of fossil fuel development offshore.
“If we have 40 to 50 percent of the time that we can rely upon [offshore wind] energy, some quick math tells us that that means 50 percent of the time, we cannot rely on that energy,” Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) told Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Deputy Director Walter Cruickshank in a tense exchange.
Cruikshank said, “I am not concerned. Offshore wind has a long track record globally. It’s been producing energy for over 30 years and been doing so successfully.”
