By Cathy Durant
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont and Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee issued a joint statement responding to the Trump Administration’s decision to pause offshore wind leases, calling the move a significant setback for clean energy development, workers and regional energy reliability.
“The Trump administration’s announcement yesterday pausing offshore wind leases is its latest egregious attack on clean energy and it lands like a lump of dirty coal for the holiday season for American workers, consumers, and investors,” the governors said in their statement. “Pausing active leases, especially for completed and nearly completed projects, defies logic, will hurt our bid for energy independence, will drive up costs for America ratepayers, and will make us lose thousands of good-paying jobs. It also threatens grid reliability that is needed to keep the lights on.”
The governors emphasized that Atlantic states are actively expanding energy generation to meet increasing demand and reduce costs. They noted that offshore wind projects already underway have produced thousands of jobs and generated billions of dollars in economic activity across their states.
“This baseless, reckless and erratic action from the Department of Interior will also inject further uncertainty into the markets, making it harder for states and private companies to secure financing for public works projects if investors know they can be stopped at any time despite having gone through all the necessary local and federal approval processes,” the statement said.
The governors also referenced a recent federal court ruling limiting the administration’s authority over offshore wind approvals. “A federal judge earlier this month ruled the Trump administration cannot simply halt federal approvals of offshore wind permits arbitrarily,” they said. “We are committed as governors to again fight back to ensure these projects move forward and provide power, jobs, and grid reliability to our communities.”
The joint statement underscores growing resistance among northeastern states to federal actions affecting offshore wind, which the governors view as central to their long-term energy, economic and climate strategies.