WASHINGTON – The U.S Transportation Department on Friday canceled $11.25 million in federal funding for gateway upgrades for access, resiliency and development at the Port of Davisville that was approved in November.
The cancellation was part of a total $679 million in federal funding for offshore wind projects in 11 states was rescinded in the latest attack by the Trump administration on the reeling U.S. offshore wind industry.
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“Wasteful wind projects are using resources that could otherwise go towards revitalizing America’s maritime industry,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement. “Thanks to President Trump, we are prioritizing real infrastructure improvements over fantasy wind projects that cost much and offer little.”
The action sparked reactions from Rhode Island officials.
“This decision undermines progress on critical infrastructure and threatens Rhode Island’s economic and energy future,” Gov. Daniel J. McKee said in a statement Friday night.
“By withdrawing [the funding], the Trump administration is undermining a high-performing port that drives real economic output, strengthens regional supply chains, and plays a central role in advancing energy and long-term growth for Rhode Island and across the Northeast,” he said.
Quonset Development Corp. Managing Director Steven J. King was more conciliatory Friday.
“The Quonset Development Corp. is disappointed by this decision but understands that this administration is working to fund projects in line with its current policy priorities. Given that Quonset Business Park’s 250 companies work broadly across nearly every sector of the economy, including in shipbuilding, we believe there is common ground to pursue and look forward to working together on new grant projects that align with the administration’s objectives and grow the economy.”
It’s the latest step by the administration against renewable energy sources.
The Trump administration has stepped up its crusade against wind and other renewable energy sources in recent weeks, cutting federal funding and canceling projects approved by the Biden administration in a sustained attack on clean energy sources that scientists say are crucial to the fight against climate change.
President Donald Trump has vowed to restore U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market and has pushed to increase U.S. reliance on fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas that emit planet-warming greenhouse gases.
California Rep. Jared Huffman, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, called Duffy’s action “outrageous” and deeply disappointing.
Trump and his Cabinet “have a stubborn and mystifying hatred of clean energy,” Huffman said in an interview. “It’s so dogmatic. They are willing to eliminate thousands of jobs and an entire sector that can bring cheap, reliable power to American consumers.”
The canceled funding will be redirected to upgrade ports and other infrastructure in the U.S., where possible, the Transportation Department said.
Other wind projects are also being halted
Separately, Trump’s Energy Department said Friday it is withdrawing a $716 million loan guarantee approved by the Biden administration to upgrade and expand transmission infrastructure to accommodate a now-threatened offshore wind project in New Jersey.
The moves come as the administration abruptly halted construction last week of a nearly complete wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island and Connecticut. The Interior Department said the government needs to review the $4 billion Revolution Wind project and address national security concerns. It did not specify what those concerns are.
Democratic governors, lawmakers and union workers in New England have called for Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to reverse course.
Trump has long expressed disdain for wind power, frequently calling it an ugly and expensive form of energy that “smart” countries don’t use.
Earlier this month, the Interior Department canceled a major wind farm in Idaho, a project approved late in former President Joe Biden’s term that had drawn criticism for its proximity to a historic site where Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II.
Trump blames renewable power for rising energy prices
Last week, with U.S. electricity prices rising at more than twice the rate of inflation, Trump lashed out, falsely blaming renewable power for skyrocketing energy costs. He called wind and solar energy “THE SCAM OF THE CENTURY!” in a social media post and vowed not to approve any wind or solar projects.
“We’re not allowing any windmills to go up unless there’s a legal situation where somebody committed to it a long time ago,” Trump said at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
Energy analysts say renewable sources have little to do with recent price hikes, which are based on increased demand from artificial intelligence and energy-hungry data centers, along with aging infrastructure and increasingly extreme weather events such as wildfires that are exacerbated by climate change.
Revolution Wind’s developer, Danish energy company Orsted, said it is evaluating the financial impact of stopping construction on the New England project and is considering legal proceedings.
Revolution Wind was expected to be Rhode Island and Connecticut’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, capable of powering more than 350,000 homes. In addition to hampering the states’ climate goals, losing out on all that renewable power could drive up electricity prices throughout the region, Democratic officials say.
Critics say climate and jobs are at risk
Trump has made sweeping strides to prioritize fossil fuels and hinder renewable energy projects. Those include reviewing wind and solar energy permits, canceling plans to use large areas of federal waters for new offshore wind development and stopping work on another offshore wind project for New York, although construction was later allowed to resume.
Some critics say the steps to cancel projects put Americans’ livelihoods at risk.
“It’s an attack on our jobs,” McKee said of the move to stop construction of Revolution Wind. “It’s an attack on our energy. It’s an attack on our families and their ability to pay the bills.”
Patrick Crowley, president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, said his union is “going to fight [Trump] every step of the way, no matter how long it takes.”
Under Biden, the U.S. held the first-ever auction of leases for floating wind farms in December 2022. Deep waters off the West Coast are better suited for floating projects than those that are anchored in the seabed, officials said.
Oceantic Network CEO Liz Burdock said Friday that the Trump administration is weakening national security and destroying good-paying jobs by pulling critical funding designed to update our aging maritime infrastructure.
“The administration is stalling essential development that delivers on shared priorities of national security and energy dominance, and signals to the investment community the U.S is not safe place for investment, Burdock said. “This political action from the administration is another targeted attack on American jobs and American taxpayers, which will raise electricity prices for millions across the U.S. and put thousands out of work.”
(ADDS comment from Gov. Daniel J. McKee in the fifth and sixth paragraphs.)
(PBN staff writer Matt McNulty contributed to this report.)
