Wind companies are slashing spending and lowering ambitions as the industry navigates attacks from President Donald Trump.
A flurry of financial announcements Wednesday outlined the industry’s scaled-back plans. Equinor, the Norwegian oil giant, slashed spending on renewable projects and its goals for wind generation. The CEO of Danish turbine-maker Vestas Wind Systems said U.S. offshore wind development had “come to a stop, more or less with immediate effect.” Orsted, the offshore wind developer, said it was cutting spending 25 percent and discontinuing its 2030 renewable target. TotalEnergies said it was reducing the staff working on a U.S. offshore wind project from around 50 to roughly five.
Those announcements underscored the difficulties facing the wind industry at the dawn of Trump’s second term. Wind was already facing rising costs and malfunctioning turbines, but those challenges have been compounded by fierce opposition from Trump.
On his first day in office, the president issued an executive order to freeze permitting for new wind projects on federal lands and waters.
