WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump has long ranted against wind energy—claiming turbines are unsightly, dangerous to wildlife and too expensive—with him threatening to upend decades of industry progress just a few hours after resuming power.
“We’re not going to do the wind thing,” Trump said Monday as he returned to the Oval Office for the first time in four years as commander-in-chief.
“Big, ugly windmills,” he said as he signed a series of executive orders that has brought the sector into crisis, adding that “they kill your birds, and they ruin your beautiful landscape.”
Among the measures were a temporary freeze on federal permitting and loans for all offshore and onshore wind projects.
Jason Grumet, president of the American Clean Power Association (ACP), quickly slammed the move, saying it “increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers.”AFP
After the announcements, wind-related stocks fell into the red. “It’s had a real cooling effect on the sector,” Elizabeth Wilson, an offshore wind specialist at Dartmouth University, told AFP. AFP
