President Donald Trump has been clear about his disdain for wind farms, but a landmark effort during his second term to halt the construction of new wind farms has now been undermined by five federal court rulings.
Trump calls wind farms “ugly“An eyesore.” He said they were “Make the whale crazy“And wind energy”kill birds“. He also has false claims Noise from windmills may cause cancer.
Apparently, Trump has a particular disdain for offshore wind (a variant that places turbines dozens of miles in open water), ostensibly since failed legal challenge A decade ago he opposed the construction of an offshore wind farm near his Scottish golf course. In December, the Interior Ministry announced that his defiance had reached its peak. Suspension of leasing Five multi-billion dollar offshore wind farms have argued that wind turbines could interfere with radar signals on national security grounds.
On Monday, a federal judge ruled that Danish energy giant Ørsted, which is developing one of its projects off the coast of New York state, can resume construction. This is the fifth time in the past three weeks that a federal judge has ruled against the Trump administration in the case, and now all five wind farms planned in federal waters have been approved. While the legal battle is not yet over, it is yet another defeat for Trump in his war on wind energy, which continues to expand in the U.S. despite the president’s attacks.
“After five rulings and five clear outcomes, it’s time to move beyond the litigation-driven uncertainty and let these projects do the job for which they were approved,” Hillary Bright, executive director of offshore wind advocacy group Turn Forward, said in a statement.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Home Affairs declined. wealthComment was requested due to pending litigation.
Wind power and renewable energy as a whole have performed much better than many expected during Trump’s first year back in office. According to statistics, in the first 11 months of 2025, wind and solar power combined accounted for nearly 90% of all new installed power generation capacity in the United States. data The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission released it last week. substantial growth Solar and battery storage were responsible for much of this last year, but wind power was no slouch either. The energy source accounted for nearly 16% of new power generation last year, surpassing natural gas and second only to solar energy.
Wind energy’s share of the U.S. energy mix isn’t just holding steady: its share is rising. From January to November last year, the United States added more than 5,500 megawatts of wind power capacity, an increase of 71% from the same period in 2024.
This is despite the fact that the Trump administration has eliminated most federal funding for green energy and has attempted to file lawsuits against wind and energy. Other renewable energy projects After submission, investors mostly remain optimism Regarding the outlook for U.S. clean energy, this is largely the result of rising electricity prices and surging demand for data center projects.
The offshore farm New York State ruled against this week was reportedly named “Sunrise Wind” About half donedevelopers say it will eventually power 600,000 homes in the state. It is unclear whether the government will seek to appeal any of the five decisions, but for now, Sunrise Wind is expected to start providing power later this year.