Offshore wind has faced harsh criticism both from the Trump administration and Rhode Island citizens, but it is a prevalent form of renewable energy especially in Rhode Island.
Rhode Island leads the country in offshore wind, according to the Coastal Resources Management Council. However, the state has still fallen victim to extreme misinformation, according to a case study from Brown University’s Climate and Development lab.
Offshore wind is important because of its vast energy generation without carbon emissions or fossil fuel use, according to Ørsted, a developer currently working on one of the Rhode Islands offshore projects. In order to meet Rhode Island’s clean energy goals, offshore wind farms are a necessity, according to the State of Rhode Island Climate Change Coordinating Council.
The University of Rhode Island has played a large role in both combating misinformation and conducting research surrounding the wind farms according to James Miller, a professor of ocean engineering and oceanography.
URI has been involved both in “marine spatial planning” and research on the impact of the windmills, Miller said.
“URI has been right at the forefront since the beginning,” Miller said, “We work closely with our partners at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Scripps Institution of Oceanography.”
Some of the Trump administration’s first acts after entering office in January were environmentally focused. The “Temporary Withdrawal of All Areas on the Outer Continental Shelf from Offshore Wind Leasing and Review of the Federal Government’s Leasing and Permitting Practices for Wind Projects,” will have an impact on offshore wind according to the Providence Journal.
This order will put a freeze on any offshore renewable energy projects proposed within the next four years, according to Miller. Projects that have already been approved or are already in action will not be impacted.
“The things that are already permitted and already being built, they’re going forward, he can’t stop those, but nothing new is going to happen for the next four years,” Robert Kenney, an emeritus marine researcher from the Graduate School of Oceanography, said.
This news does not bode well for Rhode Island’s clean energy goals, according to the State of Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources.
Trump’s negative attitude toward offshore wind is not uncommon, especially in Rhode Island, where misinformation surrounding offshore wind and its impact on the environment and marine life is rampant, Kenney said.
Rhode Island’s offshore wind opposition became more vocal in 2023, when Green Oceans, a non-profit advocating against its development, was formed. Green Oceans was formed by six wealthy people who own water-front property and do not want windmills to interrupt their views, according to Kenney.
Green Oceans makes it very hard to combat their misinformation, according to Kenney. Scientists who research these windmills have trouble fighting against misinformation due to Green Oceans using their platform to spread misinformation about marine life and wind farms.
“When a bunch of scientists get together and say ‘this is the truth, no whale has ever been killed by a wind farm,’ Green Oceans gets on Facebook and says ‘these people are being paid off by the wind industry,’” Kenney said.
Green Oceans’ goal is to “combat climate change while conserving the health of our oceans,” according to their website. However, research done by URI and other researchers has found that the wind farms do not have a major negative impact on “the health of our oceans.”
Green Oceans claims that the windmills harm sea life with their noise, construction and physicality, but Miller and Kenney have worked on research with the Rhode Island Ocean Special Area Management Plan that disproves these claims.
Green Oceans is unique among offshore wind oppositions because it is run and funded by its wealthy board members, whereas the majority of offshore wind opponents are funded by the oil industry, according to Kenney.
With the rise of AI and other energy intensive technologies, offshore wind is a valuable asset, according to Miller.
“We’re going to need offshore wind, we’re going to need natural gas, we need all that power,” Miller said.
