U.S. Wind accuses Trump administration of using "political pressure" to halt Maryland turbine project
A Maryland wind energy company is accusing the Trump administration of blocking its planned wind farm off the coast of Ocean City through "political pressure".
In a counterclaim filed in a Maryland federal court on Sept. 3, the Maryland energy company U.S. Wind said defendants including the Department of the Interior, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the National Marine Fisheries Service unlawfully moved to rescind approval for the Maryland Offshore Wind Project.
The counterclaim comes after the Trump administration said it planned to revoke the project's Construction and Operations Plan, a key permit needed to move the project forward.
U.S. Wind alleges federal officials were pressured by politicians, including the president, his appointees, members of Congress, and opponents of offshore wind — to cancel renewable energy projects.
"Political pressure was applied to the Federal Defendants' decisionmakers, and the pressure caused those decisionmakers to rely on improper factors," U.S. Wind alleged in the filing.
The company also claims the federal agencies have carried out a coordinated effort to shut down offshore wind, using executive orders, stop-work orders, and permit withdrawals, all "without any evidence to justify such drastic measures."
In the motion, the Department of Justice asked the court to pause a lawsuit, filed by the town of Ocean City, that alleges the U.S. Department of the Interior violated federal laws when it issued a Construction and Operations Plan (COP) for the project.
U.S. Wind received approval to begin construction in Dec. 2024.
The company said federal agencies are trying to rescind approvals it already received "without providing a reasonable explanation." U.S. Wind called the reversal "arbitrary and capricious" and a violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.
What is the planned offshore wind project?
U.S. Wind said the project would include 114 turbines generating up to two gigawatts of power, enough to supply about 718,000 homes. It was the 10th commercial-scale wind project approved in the U.S.
But Ocean City officials and businesses have opposed the plan. Their lawsuit said the turbines could harm views, the environment, and the tourism and fishing industries.
Trump administration withdraws project funding
On Aug. 29, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced it was pulling $679 million from offshore wind projects nationwide. That included $47 million for the Sparrows Point Steel Marshalling Port Project, a facility meant to support U.S. Wind's Ocean City turbines.
The funding cut did not affect money for the turbines themselves but removed a federal grant for a steel fabrication facility tied to the project.
Maryland House Republicans praised the administration's decision to revoke the permit. They called the wind farm "a bad idea that was never going to come to fruition."
