Earth Day organizers consider wind power essential for reaching the Our Power, Our Planet goals. However, the future of American wind power is uncertain. Wind power accounts for around 10% of all power generated in the United States. In recent years, the federal government, and several states, were very committed to expanding wind power as part of growing America’s renewable energy portfolio. The recent presidential election and increased politicization of wind power has thrown that commitment into question. We are now in 2025—a key deadline year for the Paris Agreement—and even states like California are struggling to grow their wind portfolio. It begs the question: what is the future of wind power in the United States?
The federal government is emphasizing wind power development less than it once was. The Biden administration set goals for a net zero economy by 2050, which included 30 gigawatts of offshore wind (“OSW”) by 2030. Then, the Trump administration issued an Executive Order withdrawing all Outer Continental Shelf wind energy lease areas, restricting offshore wind leasing, and ordering increased scrutiny of the environmental impact of onshore and offshore wind projects. The Executive Order also specifically called for a moratorium on the Lava Ridge Wind Project in Idaho. In February, the Army Corps of Engineers halted permitting for traditional wind farms nationwide. Just last week, the BOEM Acting Director ordered the Empire Wind project, located offshore of New Jersey and Long Island, to halt construction and address feedback it received on its environmental analyses. All of these federal actions directed at wind projects within the first 100 days of the new administration leads one to wonder how far the current administration will deviate from the previous administration’s support of America’s wind industry.
In the face of federal uncertainty, there is nowhere better to look for a predictor of America’s renewable energy future than California, one of the world’s largest economies and a global leader in advancing climate change solutions. California aims to reach carbon neutrality by 2045. In 2023, California had over 6,000 megawatts (“MW”) in renewable energy generation capacity from wind. There is currently one large traditional wind project pending before the California Energy Commission (“CEC” or “the Commission”) and CEC Staff just recommended that the Commission deny the project. The Fountain Wind Project promises 205 MW in nameplate generating capacity. Despite the large amount of renewable energy that the Fountain Wind Project would add to California’s portfolio, CEC Staff recommended denying the project because of unavoidable and significant impacts on biological, tribal, forestry, and visual resources along with hazard, wildfire, and land use concerns. In its place, the CEC Staff recommended building 200 MW of battery storage, which would require a much smaller land footprint than the wind farm and would not require compliance with Federal Aviation Administration regulations. It still remains to be seen if the CEC will heed Staff’s recommendation and deny the project, striking a blow to California’s renewable energy goals.
California’s ambitious carbon neutrality goals also include offshore wind. In July 2024, the CEC issued an OSW strategic plan, which set a goal of 25,000 MW of OSW generation by 2045. The strategic plan also identified the most suitable sea space for OSW, the majority of which is near Yurok lands in Northern California. The Yurok Tribe voiced opposition to OSW because of impacts on sacred sites and the Klamath watershed ecosystem. Nevertheless, California is moving forward with OSW development, including by providing funding to advance the substation technology that will be needed to bring floating OSW power to shore. The Fountain Wind Staff Assessment noted that “offshore wind development would not replace available onshore wind capacity, but instead would supplement onshore renewable generation.” It is not yet clear how federal skepticism of offshore wind and local resistance to wind farms will affect California’s offshore wind goals, but it appears that California’s wind generation future is not guaranteed.
And if wind farms cannot get built without resistance and difficulty in California, where can they get built?
[View source.]
