The Trump administration has asked a federal court to cancel approval for a $6 billion offshore wind project off Maryland, escalating its push to restrict development of clean energy resources.
In a filing submitted on 12 September, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) said it had identified errors in its earlier permitting of the Maryland Offshore Wind Project, which is led by US Wind. BOEM argued that the Biden-era approval underestimated potential conflicts with commercial fisheries and the impact on search-and-rescue helicopter operations, citing what it described as a failure to properly weigh statutory factors.
The Maryland facility, backed by Apollo Global Management funds and a Toto Holding subsidiary, was due to begin construction next year. Plans call for as many as 114 turbines to be installed about ten nautical miles off Ocean City, with projected output sufficient to supply around 718,000 homes, according to filings.
The legal action follows a notice from the Trump administration last month signalling its intent to reverse the project’s permit. It comes amid a broader campaign by the president during his second term to curtail offshore wind development. In recent weeks, the administration has intervened to halt construction on an almost completed Ørsted project off Rhode Island and has moved to block two other proposed wind farms in Massachusetts waters.
The pushback against offshore wind marks a significant shift for the sector, which had expanded under the previous administration’s clean energy policies. For Maryland, the legal dispute introduces new uncertainty over one of the state’s most high-profile renewable energy ventures.
