The US Department of the Interior launched what it described as a “full review” of the nation’s offshore wind energy regulations to ensure they align with the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and America’s energy priorities under President Donald J. Trump.
The Renewable Energy Modernization Rule is the review’s main target, the department said in a statement.
The effort will also include reviewing financial assurance requirements and decommissioning cost estimates for offshore wind projects, to “ensure federal regulations do not provide preferential treatment to unreliable, foreign-controlled energy sources over dependable, American-made energy.”
The review, led by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, will consider updates to rules under 30 CFR parts 585, 586, and 285.
US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said the Department is fully committed to making sure that offshore energy development reflects President Trump’s America First Energy Dominance agenda and the real-world demands of today’s global energy landscape.
“We’re taking a results-driven approach that prioritizes reliability, strengthens national security and upholds both scientific integrity and responsible environmental stewardship,” Burgum claimed.
The Department said the effort also supports Executive Order 14315, which directs agencies to identify and eliminate what it claimed was “favoritism toward unreliable energy sources.”
The Department has paused new approvals for offshore wind projects including leases, permits, rights-of-way and loans, in compliance with the Presidential Memorandum on wind energy, while it conducts a review of offshore wind energy projects and their impact on the environment, national security and the economy.
