Trump Once Again Lights Taxpayer Dollars on Fire to Kill Cheaper Wind Energy While American Utility Bills Skyrocket

Contact: Seth Nelson

Today, the Trump administration announced a $765 million deal with Invenergy to surrender four offshore wind leases off the coasts of New York, California, and Maine and redirect the funds, in part, to gas-fired power plants in the Midwest. In response, Evergreen Action Executive Director Lena Moffitt released the following statement:

“Trump is forcing Americans to pay twice for his corruption: once in the tax dollars he’s lighting on fire to kill cheap wind power, and again in the higher electricity bills they’ll face because that energy never gets built. This is the third time in three months the Trump administration has paid a company to walk away from offshore wind and funneled the money into more expensive fossil fuels. And every time, it’s the same old story: working families get squeezed so Trump’s donor friends can cash in.

“Don’t be fooled by this administration’s audacious claim that this will ‘lower utility costs.’ That’s a flat-out lie. The Northeast desperately needs new power—especially during extreme winter and summer weather events, when offshore wind “keep[s] a lid on prices” by displacing expensive gas. Families up and down the coast were counting on this power. Instead, Trump took their tax dollars, killed these projects, and shipped the money to Midwestern gas plants. This administration promised to end America’s energy affordability crisis—instead it’s spending your money every day to make sure you can’t escape it.”

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