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Burgum Rules Out Offshore Wind–Permitting Deal, Calls Industry ‘Bad for Everybody’

The comments underscore a continued project pause with a focus on electricity costs before the 2026 elections.

Overview

  • At an API event, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum rejected restarting offshore wind projects in exchange for congressional permitting reform.
  • Burgum portrayed offshore wind as unreliable and subsidy-dependent, pointing to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s phaseout of incentives.
  • The administration has paused projects, sought to halt construction, and moved to rescind permits as part of a broader review of offshore wind leasing.
  • NOAA researchers report no established link between offshore wind activities and whale deaths, countering one rationale cited by critics.
  • Industry groups and some lawmakers pushed back and continue to press permitting reforms like the bipartisan SPEED Act introduced by Rep. Bruce Westerman.