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Released June 11, 2025 | SUGAR LAND
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The Trump administration can declare a victory in its war against U.S. offshore wind power as Shell New Energies and EDF Renewables (Nanterre, France) have petitioned to cancel the contract to provide renewable energy from the proposed Atlantic Shores 1 offshore wind project to New Jersey.
Both Shell (London, England) and EDF have taken writedowns on the project, with Shell declaring that the regulatory environment caused it to exit the project in January, taking a $1 billion writedown. The 50:50 EDF-Shell joint venture, Atlantic Shores, remained a partnership, however, having received offshore renewable energy certificates from New Jersey. Atlantic Shores said in January the project remained in development, despite Shell's exit, as it was still contractually a partner. EDF followed with a writedown of its own of 900 euros (US$940 million) for the project in February. Nevertheless, the project still remained in existence, in theory at least.
This changed thanks to a day-one executive order from U.S. President Donald Trump that demanded not only a pause on new onshore and offshore wind permitting, but a review of existing permits. In mid-March, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) remanded the Biden-era air permit for the Atlantic Shores 1 project, making construction all but impossible to start.
Changing costs had caused the bid for Atlantic Shores' to be resubmitted for New Jersey's fourth offshore wind auction, before the bidding was canceled earlier this year. Initially, three developers had submitted bids, but in the face of the looming regulatory headwinds, the other developers pulled out, leaving only Atlantic Shores, now minus Shell's active participation, in the running. The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) canceled the auction, noting the changing regulatory environment and Shell's withdrawal.
Last week's move by EDF and Shell for the BPU to terminate the Offshore Renewable Energy Certificate (OREC) order, which was to have delivered 1.5 gigawatts (GW) of wind power to New Jersey, enough for more than 700,000 homes, put a final nail in the project's coffin. "The loss of the (EPA) air permit significantly jeopardizes petitioner's funding and construction plans for the project, which the federal government had approved to start as early as 2025," said Atlantic Shores' petition to the BUC. "As a result of the foregoing developments, the project is no longer viable upon the terms and conditions set forth in the OREC Order."
Atlantic Shores 1 was the first phase of the larger Atlantic Shore offshore wind project, which was to have generated 2.8 GW after multiple phases of construction. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can learn more by viewing the related project reports.
The Trump administration's battle against offshore wind has even extended to projects already permitted and under construction, as its May stop-work for Equinor's (Stavanger, Norway) Empire offshore project in New York waters showed. The order was subsequently rescinded after New York appeared to be reconsidering the construction of a canceled natural gas pipeline project for which the state had denied a key permit in prior years. Equinor said it was spending about $50 million a week to keep the project afloat during the suspension. The company had purchased the lease in 2017, during Trump's first term in office.
European energy companies such as Equinor, BP (London, England), Orsted A/S (Fredericia, Denmark) and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (Copenhagen, Denmark) were among the first to enter the developing U.S. offshore wind sector as the Biden administration set the goal of having 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030. Several companies faced increasing costs and supply-chain issues as the global offshore wind sector burgeoned, forcing some to renegotiate bids or take writedowns from their work in the still-developing U.S. sector. On Trump's first day in office, Orsted reported an impairment of 12.1 billion Danish kroner (US$1.7 billion) from rising interest rates, escalating costs and falling windfarm valuations for its U.S. offshore sector and slashed its capital spending plans through 2030. National Grid plc (London, England), TotalEnergies SE (Courbevoie, France) and Germany's RWE (Essen) also have taken writedowns, shied away from projects and/or reduced U.S. employee headcount for offshore projects in U.S. waters since Trump took office.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
Both Shell (London, England) and EDF have taken writedowns on the project, with Shell declaring that the regulatory environment caused it to exit the project in January, taking a $1 billion writedown. The 50:50 EDF-Shell joint venture, Atlantic Shores, remained a partnership, however, having received offshore renewable energy certificates from New Jersey. Atlantic Shores said in January the project remained in development, despite Shell's exit, as it was still contractually a partner. EDF followed with a writedown of its own of 900 euros (US$940 million) for the project in February. Nevertheless, the project still remained in existence, in theory at least.
This changed thanks to a day-one executive order from U.S. President Donald Trump that demanded not only a pause on new onshore and offshore wind permitting, but a review of existing permits. In mid-March, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) remanded the Biden-era air permit for the Atlantic Shores 1 project, making construction all but impossible to start.
Changing costs had caused the bid for Atlantic Shores' to be resubmitted for New Jersey's fourth offshore wind auction, before the bidding was canceled earlier this year. Initially, three developers had submitted bids, but in the face of the looming regulatory headwinds, the other developers pulled out, leaving only Atlantic Shores, now minus Shell's active participation, in the running. The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) canceled the auction, noting the changing regulatory environment and Shell's withdrawal.
Last week's move by EDF and Shell for the BPU to terminate the Offshore Renewable Energy Certificate (OREC) order, which was to have delivered 1.5 gigawatts (GW) of wind power to New Jersey, enough for more than 700,000 homes, put a final nail in the project's coffin. "The loss of the (EPA) air permit significantly jeopardizes petitioner's funding and construction plans for the project, which the federal government had approved to start as early as 2025," said Atlantic Shores' petition to the BUC. "As a result of the foregoing developments, the project is no longer viable upon the terms and conditions set forth in the OREC Order."
Atlantic Shores 1 was the first phase of the larger Atlantic Shore offshore wind project, which was to have generated 2.8 GW after multiple phases of construction. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can learn more by viewing the related project reports.
The Trump administration's battle against offshore wind has even extended to projects already permitted and under construction, as its May stop-work for Equinor's (Stavanger, Norway) Empire offshore project in New York waters showed. The order was subsequently rescinded after New York appeared to be reconsidering the construction of a canceled natural gas pipeline project for which the state had denied a key permit in prior years. Equinor said it was spending about $50 million a week to keep the project afloat during the suspension. The company had purchased the lease in 2017, during Trump's first term in office.
European energy companies such as Equinor, BP (London, England), Orsted A/S (Fredericia, Denmark) and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (Copenhagen, Denmark) were among the first to enter the developing U.S. offshore wind sector as the Biden administration set the goal of having 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030. Several companies faced increasing costs and supply-chain issues as the global offshore wind sector burgeoned, forcing some to renegotiate bids or take writedowns from their work in the still-developing U.S. sector. On Trump's first day in office, Orsted reported an impairment of 12.1 billion Danish kroner (US$1.7 billion) from rising interest rates, escalating costs and falling windfarm valuations for its U.S. offshore sector and slashed its capital spending plans through 2030. National Grid plc (London, England), TotalEnergies SE (Courbevoie, France) and Germany's RWE (Essen) also have taken writedowns, shied away from projects and/or reduced U.S. employee headcount for offshore projects in U.S. waters since Trump took office.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
