If you’ve been on a road trip you’ve seen them: Great, big blades slicing through dusty blue sky, the sun bouncing sharply off of bright white. Rows of turbines, seemingly endless, stretching into the horizon until they stand like toothpicks against plumes of voluminous clouds. One such collection of turbines stands still and silent, not quite done, off of the shore of Rhode Island. They’re a promise, a sign of a changing industry.
On Aug. 22, a director’s order was sent from the Bureau of Energy Management ordering the halt of the Revolution Wind project. This project, which began construction in 2023 and is close to completion, was meant to power about 250,000 homes once completed. Soon after the stop-work order was issued, a lawsuit was filed against the government and the stop-work order is now temporarily suspended by the judge while the lawsuit is in court.
The halting was a product of a presidential action signed Jan. 20, in which the withdrawal of offshore wind leasing and the review of current leases was ordered.
As the world shifts toward renewable and green energy, wind energy has been found to hold a lot of potential. Wind energy harnesses the natural energy potential in wind currents. The wind turns a turbine, which then drives a generator, ultimately producing usable electricity. Offshore wind turbines have been found to be especially efficient.
“In the offshore [wind farms] you’ve got higher wind speeds, you’re not dealing with anything other than aesthetics,” said Doc Snyder, an AP Environmental Science teacher.
Revolution Wind is one of several projects in development in the United States for offshore wind energy. In North Carolina, there has already been research on the best places to develop offshore wind energy and some spots have been found to be very promising, such as Pamlico Sound.
“I was part of a study in which we figured out that if we put in over 16 wind turbines [in Pamlico Sound], you could create enough energy to feed the needs of everybody east of I-95 down to Wilmington,” Snyder said.
There is also a wind farm currently being planned near Kitty Hawk, which is currently in the advanced planning stage and construction has not yet begun. It is known as Kitty Hawk North Wind but was renamed to Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind South when sold to its current owner, Dominion Energy
The current shift toward green and renewable energy is largely a product of observed environmental impacts caused by the burning of fossil fuels such as global climate shifts. However, there are many obstacles to the implementation of these alternative forms of electricity generation.
“[Oligarchs] get all their money from fossil fuel companies. They don’t want to compete,” Snyder said. “If you actually took away the subsidies that we already have on fossil fuels, wind energy would be a lot cheaper.”
On the flip side, many of the funding cuts and pauses in development to alternative energy sources have been explained by the government as necessary in order to maintain and better the United States’ energy industry. One presidential action, titled “Ending Market Distorting Subsidies for Unreliable, Foreign Controlled Energy Sources” said the following:
“Ending the massive cost of taxpayer handouts to unreliable energy sources is vital to energy dominance, national security, economic growth, and the fiscal health of the Nation.”
However, even as the government removes funds and halts projects, many of these energy industries continue forward. North Carolina is one of the leading states in regards to solar power and is in the process of developing several wind farms. Additionally, another alternative energy source, fusion, is currently being prototyped. Fusion, though not renewable, has been shown to be much better for the environment and for human health than other nonrenewable energy sources.
“[Fusion energy] has no byproducts, no waste products and is relatively safe,” Snyder said.
The path of renewable and other alternative forms of energy is changing, but even with government funding cuts and numerous obstacles, it does not seem to be stopping anytime soon.