Unionized workers in the wind energy industry are speaking out against what they call President Donald Trump's 'personal vendetta' against wind power, warning that his administration's actions are costing jobs and undermining a key renewable energy sector. Since returning to office for a second term, Trump has issued executive orders to halt wind-energy leases and permits, imposed stop-work orders on projects under construction, and spent more than $2.6 billion to buy out wind energy leases.
Workers Face Uncertainty as Stop-Work Orders Disrupt Projects
Thomas Kilday, a furnace electrician with IBEW Local 99 in Providence, Rhode Island, was working on the Revolution Wind Project off the Atlantic coast last August when the Trump administration issued a stop-work order. 'No one really knew what was going on. We didn't know what it meant for us. We just knew that everything was up in the air,' he said. 'You plan your whole life around being gone for 28 days, and to come out here and have it thrown up in the air, worrying what does this mean for me, for my pay for the next four weeks, what's going to happen? There's a lot of uncertainty.'
Construction on the project involves 28-day shifts, with workers living on a vessel and commuting by helicopter to the turbines. A federal court blocked the initial stop-work order in September, but the administration issued a second 90-day stop-work order in December, citing national security, before another judge issued an injunction in January. Kilday was celebrating Christmas with his family when the second order came. 'That was really difficult,' he said. 'I just spent a bunch of money on Christmas gifts for my family, and it was not what I wanted to be thinking about. Six months out of the year we're away from home, and for what little time we do have at home, not to be able to just focus all of that time and energy on our families, it's tough.'
Lease Buyouts Cost $2.6 Billion, Spark Criticism
In June, the Trump administration abandoned efforts to halt all wind projects across the U.S. after losing a court challenge to the president's executive order freezing permits and leasing. Instead, it shifted to buying out wind project leases. The Department of Interior has completed four deals, paying energy corporations over $2.6 billion, including $765 million to Invenergy to abandon four projects in California, New York, and Maine, and nearly $900 million to Bluepoint Wind and Garden State Wind to cancel offshore leases in New York and California.
Pat Crowley, president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, criticized the policy. 'I think it's a foolish policy that the Trump administration is engaging in trying to buy out these leases. These projects are not only helping to reduce our carbon emissions, they're providing good-paying union jobs for thousands.' He noted that workers would have enjoyed long-term job stability, and that the administration had lost in court five times in attempts to stop wind projects in Rhode Island. 'We're five for five taking on the Trump administration. What the Trump administration is doing is just throwing money away for the sake of their ideology.'
Workers Proud of Renewable Energy Contributions
Despite the disruptions, workers remain proud of their role in building renewable energy. 'We're proud of the work that we do out here, and we want to be able to continue to do it. We think it's important work,' said Kilday. '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, and I'm proud of that.'
Revolution Wind announced in March that it had begun delivering power to New England, with over 1,000 local union workers involved, and the project is expected to power more than 350,000 homes and businesses. Construction is over 90% complete.
Personal Vendetta Alleged by Worker
Will Gonzalez, a construction laborer with Laborers' Local 385 in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, worked on the Vinyard Wind 1 project off Martha's Vineyard, which the administration tried to halt in January but is now fully operational. He said Trump's opposition stems from a failed attempt to stop a wind turbine near his golf course in Scotland in 2015. 'It's a personal vendetta. Good union jobs – we shouldn't be trying to take those off the table. That just doesn't make any kind of sense. Families obviously need good jobs … why take those jobs away?'
Gonzalez noted that workers have unused training and certifications due to halted projects. 'All of us that worked on that Vinyard Wind 1, obviously, we would have loved to segue right into another project. We're fully trained, ready to go, willing and able, so it directly affected us. But you move on. You [have] got to move on. You can't sit and dwell on that, because that's not going to pay the bills.'
Administration Denies Job Losses
The White House directed comment to the Department of Interior. A spokesperson for the department denied that cancellations and stop-work orders had affected jobs, even on projects under construction. 'No jobs were eliminated because none of these leases were operational or supporting employment,' the spokesperson said. 'Rather than waiting years for the projects to materialize, the Trump administration is prioritizing investments in existing infrastructure and functioning supply chains that can create jobs now and deliver economic benefits faster. This approach puts more people to work more quickly, using proven, affordable, and reliable energy rather than relying on projects tied to leases that were not producing jobs in the first place.' The spokesperson did not respond to a request for clarification and did not comment on Trump's past opposition to wind projects near his golf courses.
