Donald Trump has suspended federal offshore wind leasing until an economic and environmental review is completed. He said that windmills are ugly and expensive, and they harm wildlife.

"We won't do the wind thing." Windmills that are big and ugly. "They ruin your neighborhood," said he.

He claimed, without providing any evidence, that offshore wind projects are responsible for the increase in whale deaths in recent years off the U.S. East Coast.

He continued: "They are the most expensive energy source you can use, by far." They ruin your landscape and kill your birds.

In a White House press statement, Trump announced that he had issued an executive order suspending the leasing of offshore wind from all areas on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf pending an economic and environmental review.

Orsted, Avangrid Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Dominion are among the companies that have already begun to develop offshore wind farms in the United States.

Wind power representatives expressed concern over the move, saying that Trump's position was at odds with his promise to maximize energy production in the country.

Hillary Bright, the executive director of Turn Forward, an offshore wind advocacy organization said: "A national emergency demands that we unleash all sources of American power - including offshore winds."

The former U.S. president Joe Biden saw the wind as an important part of his strategy for decarbonizing the U.S. energy sector in order to combat climate change. His government held several auctions to develop large new projects.

Trump's opposition against wind power is a complete 180-degree turn from his first administration, during which his administration also encouraged offshore wind development.

The suspension was announced at the same time that Trump unveiled a plan to maximize U.S. production of oil and natural gas, while withdrawing from the 2015 Paris Climate Pact designed to combat global warming. (Writing and editing by Michael Perry; Richard Valdmanis)

(source: Reuters)