(Bloomberg) – An offshore wind venture between bp Plc and Japan’s Jera Co. plans to close its operating activities in the U.S. as the clean energy resource faces pressure from the Trump administration.
JERA Nex bp — the merged offshore wind units of the two companies — said all team members in the U.S. market will leave in the coming months, according to a statement posted on its website. The firm had planned to build the 2.5-gigawatt Beacon wind farm off Massachusetts.
“Unfortunately, in the present environment we see no viable path to the development of our Beacon wind project and have concluded, that we cannot continue our investment in the market,” the company said.
The decision follows efforts by U.S. President Donald Trump to block several offshore wind projects since returning to office in January. The Interior Department is reviewing projects that have already won approval and has also sought to stop construction on a massive, almost complete wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island.
Given many developments are planned in federal waters controlled by the U.S. leader and his executive branch, that heavily exposes the sector to political risk. The Danish wind developer Orsted A/S is cutting about 25% of its workforce and shifting its focus to Europe in response to hurdles in the U.S. market.
