Offshore Wind Energy 
[Published August 7, 2026]
This issue of the Seabreeze continues to provide valuable updates, highlights, and challenges from last month on the development of responsible offshore wind. If you know someone who would benefit from these insights please invite them to Sign Up!
SPOTLIGHT:
On July 16, eight East Coast states issued a Notice of Intent to Sue, challenging the Department of the Interior’s negotiated buybacks of the Bluepoint Wind and Invenergy offshore wind leases. The states argue that the Department of Interior violated the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and lacked authority to enter into the settlement agreement and use federal funds to finance the buyback. The notice initiates the 60-day pre-suit notice period, after which the states may file suit if the alleged violations are not remedied.
FEDERAL UPDATES:
Administrative
Senate Democrats launched an investigation into offshore wind lease buybacks on July 17. Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM), joined by several Democratic senators, opened an investigation into the Administration’s offshore wind lease buyback agreements. The senators requested information from developers regarding negotiations with the Department of the Interior and questioned the legal authority for using federal funds to repurchase offshore wind leases.
Democratic leaders on the House and Senate Natural Resources Committees requested a Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation into the Administration’s proposal to consolidate offshore energy agencies into the new Marine Minerals Administration on July 8, raising concerns about impacts on independent offshore safety oversight.
Multiple news outlets analyzed the Administration’s reliance on national security concerns to justify stop work orders, lease buybacks, and the broader pause on offshore wind development this month. Coverage highlighted the ongoing legal disputes and differing views regarding the extent to which offshore wind poses military radar and sonar concerns. Notably, journalists called attention to the point that the Pentagon already reviews national security concerns and determines areas to be excluded from development as part of the existing planning process for offshore wind areas. PBS’s recent deep dive into the national security claim can be read here.
Regulatory
The Endangered Species Act (ESA) proposed rulemaking was finalized this month, resulting in three changes to the enforcement of protections for species listed as endangered under the ESA. On July 14, The Administration finalized the repeal of the regulatory definition of “harm” under the ESA. As a result, the take prohibition no longer explicitly includes habitat modification that results in death or injury to listed species. The Administration also finalized the repeal of the blanket 4(d) rule on July 21, which had automatically extended most ESA protections for endangered species to newly listed threatened species unless species-specific regulations were adopted. Additionally, the Fish and Wildlife Service finalized the ESA Section 4(b)(2) rule addressing critical habitat exclusions on July 17. The rule establishes a framework for evaluating the benefits of including versus excluding areas from critical habitat designations, including economic, national security, and other relevant considerations. This rule could increase the likelihood of exclusions even though the Administration described the changes as aiming to provide greater transparency and consistency in the exclusion process.
These recent rulemakings on the ESA have significant implications for both endangered species conservation and the future of responsibly developed offshore wind. The agency has departed from long-standing regulatory interpretations that have historically provided a consistent framework for implementing the ESA’s conservation objectives. These changes create uncertainty for the future of responsibly developed offshore wind by altering the regulatory landscape governing project permitting, ESA consultation, future leasing, transmission infrastructure, and related development.
Separately, on July 21, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issued a 90-day finding denying a petition from Save Long Beach Island, Inc. to revise North Atlantic right whale critical habitat to include migratory habitat. NMFS concluded that the petition did not present sufficient scientific information to support the requested revision and noted that available sighting data may be influenced by nearshore observation bias.
Litigation
Although Judge Patti B. Saris vacated the President’s offshore wind memorandum in New York et al. v. Trump, BOEM’s renewable energy webpage continues to state that the Department of the Interior is implementing the President’s Memorandum pausing new offshore wind leasing and reviewing previously approved projects. Judge Saris’ decision is final, as the federal government voluntarily dismissed their appeal at the First Circuit Court of Appeals. It is unclear whether the website reflects an outdated website, implementation under separate legal authorities, or continued reliance on the vacated memorandum.
California issued a second Notice of Intent (NOI) to Sue the federal government on July 16 over the negotiated buyback of the Invenergy lease in Morro Bay. This follows the state’s Notice of Intent to Sue over the Golden State Wind lease buyback on June 23. California argues in both NOIs that the Department of the Interior violated the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act by cancelling the leases through negotiated buybacks rather than following the statutory procedures established by Congress for offshore wind leasing and state participation. The 60-day notice period has begun for both, after which California may file suit if the alleged violations are not remedied.
The Renew NE et al. v. DOI briefing schedule has been set. The brief and appendix are due September 8, and the preliminary injunction remains in place.
Renewable Northwest et al. v. Hegseth remains pending. The case had a preliminary injunction hearing this month on August 4, but details were not published at the time of newsletter send-out.
STATE AND REGIONAL UPDATES:
NORTHEAST (CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, RI)
South Fork Wind has been delivering during extreme heat events this summer. During the July 1-4 heatwave, South Fork Wind provided nearly 10 gigawatt-hours of power, reaching a 90% capacity factor on July 2.
Revolution Wind and Vineyard Wind were also performing during the July heat: “Oil provided nearly 10 percent of the region’s total power supply during peak-demand conditions on July 2, 2026 —that period’s hottest day— down from nearly 15 percent at the highest point on June 24, 2025” before both projects were on the grid.
An article in Mother Jones illuminated the impact that the Trump Administration’s fight against offshore wind has had on workers. One of the workers featured, Thomas Kilday, a furnace electrician with IBEW local 99 in Providence, Rhode Island who was working on Revolution Wind when the stop work order was announced in August 2025 explains the uncertainty and worries about financial insecurity that resulted from the interruption. Still, he describes his pride in working on the project and desire to keep doing it: “When I’m at home, and I drive down my street, I look up at those power lines. I helped create the power that’s running through those power lines.” The piece also notes that a spokesperson for the Department of Interior denied that the stop work orders had any impact on jobs.
New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell spoke with Ocean State Media about the impact of federal cuts to offshore wind projects on the city. New Bedford is facing a projected $32 million deficit, which has forced the city to increase taxes and lay off dozens of city employees. The Administration’s attacks on offshore wind have exacerbated the city’s problem, which has served as a hub for offshore wind development. “We had a pipeline of projects behind [the Vineyard Wind Project] that are largely in jeopardy now” Mayor Mitchell said.
On July 20, Rhode Island’s congressional delegation – including Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and U.S. Representatives Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo – lauded the environmental and economic benefits of offshore wind at a press conference at Johnson & Wales University in Providence.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst highlighted the Academic Center for Reliability and Resilience of Offshore Wind (ARROW) program’s recent Summer Education Accelerator. Participants spent four days in New Bedford, MA learning about the latest in offshore wind research. The National Wildlife Federation worked with ARROW to bring 160 participants to see offshore wind off the coasts of Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
MID-ATLANTIC (DE, MD, NC, VA)
Turn Forward explains that PJM’s July 14 release from its newest power auction confirm the results projected in the Charles River Associates’ report from last month. PJM did not secure enough energy to meet their own safety requirements to maintain a reliable grid for the second consecutive year. Turn Forward states that offshore wind energy, like that from the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, will provide “significant power to the part of the grid under the most strain.”
In late June, the Trump Administration announced it would pay Duke Energy $129 million to abandon its offshore wind project off the coast of North Carolina to reinvest that amount into gas and nuclear projects. The Southeastern Wind Coalition (SEWC) states that the lease area had the potential to generate up to 1.3 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power about 300,000 homes, and in addition to the Carolina Long Beach lease relinquished by TotalEnergies earlier this year, both projects would have supported approximately “37,000 jobs, $3 billion in annual wages, $233 million in state tax revenue, and $44 billion in capital investment during the development and construction phases of the projects.”
On July 21, North Carolina Congresswomen Deborah Ross (NC-02), Valerie Foushee (NC-04), and Alma Adams (NC-12) demanded answers from Duke Energy as the utility seeks to raise energy prices by 11.6%, claiming that the deal sends a message that the Duke prioritizes “the President’s favor over providing clean, affordable energy to North Carolinians.”
An article titled “Against the Wind: Inside the Completion of America’s Largest Offshore Wind Plant” for POWER outlines the historic timeline of permitting, planning, and construction of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project, which will finish construction later this year to provide energy to Virginia ratepayers. The article highlights how Dominion Energy proposed to own and operate the project as a rate-based utility, the two-turbine CVOW-pilot project, first power, and other notable benchmarks in the progress of the project to date.
GULF OF MEXICO (LA, TX)
In his letter to the editor, chief development officer of Grand Isle Shipyard (GIS) Todd Berthelot describes the opportunities that offshore wind presents for companies like GIS to expand their business and employ more skilled workers. “Today, offshore wind is transforming Louisiana, just like offshore oil and gas did in the 20th century,” Berthelot writes. “By volume, almost 25% of contracts for American offshore wind projects are going to businesses in Gulf states.”
Despite ongoing roadblocks to offshore wind at the federal level, Nunez Community College students continued to train a new generation of wind energy technicians and sent students to see the operating wind farms first-hand off the coast of New England. The trip, organized by the National Wildlife Federation, allowed students to learn more about the turbines and “connect theory with practice in a way that can’t be replicated on a college campus,” said Nunez’s Sustainable Energy Career Academy coordinator Kat Bell.
An unfortunate update on the progress of the Louisiana Offshore Wind Roadmap: due to shifts in priorities at the federal level, how those priorities are reflected at the state level, and ongoing budget cuts and reallocations based upon changes in how the state views and accepts funding resources, the monies allocated for the offshore wind roadmap have been terminated. The roadmap website has been removed.
A new report released by Environment Texas Research & Policy Center and Frontier Group lays out principles state lawmakers should follow if Texas adopts a statewide renewable energy siting policy. The report included recommendations to: 1) Establish clear rules on a timely basis; 2) Avoid non-science-based regulations; 3) Prioritize land and wildlife stewardship while respecting landowners’ rights; 4) Set floors and ceilings — minimum protections localities must include, and maximum restrictions they can’t exceed — so cities and counties can regulate renewable energy projects but can’t effectively ban them; 5) Use a tiered review process, with stricter scrutiny for sensitive sites and faster review for projects on previously disturbed land.
Upon release of the report, Environment Texas also hosted a webinar to discuss strategies for reducing impacts to wildlife and habitat.
PACIFIC (CA, HI, OR, WA)
The Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) finalized and submitted the Oregon Offshore Wind Energy Roadmap to the Oregon State Legislature on July 27. Next steps include potential legislative actions for the 2027 session to support the top recommendations coming from the Roadmap.
As noted above in the federal litigation section, California issued a Notice of Intent (NOI) to Sue the federal government on July 16 over the negotiated buyback of the Invenergy lease in Morro Bay. California argues in the NOI that the Department of the Interior violated the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act by cancelling the leases through negotiated buybacks rather than following the statutory procedures established by Congress for offshore wind leasing and state participation. The 60-day notice period has begun, after which California may file suit if the alleged violations are not remedied.
A new factsheet from Offshore Wind California highlights new polling from Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) that shows that 73% of Californians support offshore wind projects off the state’s coast.
RESOURCES:
Recent
Coast to Coast Screening & Panel: The Need for Responsible Offshore Wind Energy
Wednesday, July 15 | Recording
Earlier this year, Revolution Wind started delivering power to Connecticut. Once complete, this clean, reliable, and affordable energy project will provide enough power to run 350,000 homes across Rhode Island and Connecticut. Offshore wind is already showing up for Connecticut – join our expert panel to hear more about how offshore wind benefits Connecticut ratepayers and learn how offshore wind can be developed responsibly for wildlife and communities.
Watt’s Offshore? Sierra Club
Thursday, July 16 | Recording
Texas leads the nation in wind energy production and has for almost twenty years. The Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter discussed the state of clean energy in Texas and the potential for offshore wind in the Gulf. Shannon Flores joined to discuss the real world impacts like job creation and wildlife protections. Additional event materials here.
Renewable Energy and Nature: How Texas Can Have Both
Tuesday, July 16 | Recording
Environment Texas Research and Policy Center hosted a webinar to discuss their new report, Protecting the nature of Texas, powering our clean energy future: Smart renewable energy siting and operations in the Lone Star State. The webinar also featured speakers from Audubon Texas, American Farmland Trust, Sierra Club, and National Wildlife Federation to discuss proven strategies already being used across Texas to reduce impacts on birds, bats, habitat, and water resources and how we can build on those to maximize benefits to our environment.
Upcoming
NYSERDA’s Learning from the Experts Series: Substation Installation
Thursday, September 10 | 10 AM EST | Register
This webinar is the first in a five-part series on offshore construction. Experts from Ventolines will provide a deep dive into the offshore construction and installation processes that bring a project from permitted design to operational wind farm.