Trump's EPA Withdraws Permit from Proposed NJ Offshore Wind Farm
Federal officials were successful in withdrawing for what is believed to be the first time an environmental permit granted by the Biden administration for an offshore wind farm. New Jersey’s proposed Atlantic Shores offshore wind farm project had been singled out by Donald Trump in his opposition to the industry and this latest development adds another hurdle to an already troubled project and potentially the industry.
Atlantic Shores which was proposed as a joint venture between Shell and EDF Renewables received its federal permitting including approval of its Construction and Operations Plan by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in October 2024. The plan calls for a two-phase project with a total capacity of 2.8 GW. The first phase, which would be in the southern part of the state near Atlantic City has consistently been reported to be in position to become New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm.
Donald Trump singled out the project during the 2024 presidential campaign and in February 2025 said he hoped the New Jersey project would be “dead and gone.” Among the presidential executive orders were steps to review the industry and its impact on the environment.
The Environmental Protection Agency filed a motion in February to remand the 2024 approval granted to Atlantic Shores for review. Friday, March 14, Environmental Appeals Court Judge Mary Kay Lynch granted the motion saying it was appropriate based on Trump’s Executive Orders.
Local opponents have been contending that the review of the project’s EPA air quality filing did not meet a number of procedural requirements. They allege that the air quality modeling for the EPA permit was not done properly. The permit only pertains to the pile driving operation to set the monopoles for the project and not its operations.
“Atlantic Shores is disappointed by the EPA’s decision to pull back its fully executed permit,” Atlantic Shores said in a brief statement. It emphasizes that “regulatory certainty is critical to deploying major energy projects.”
The project has already faced significant hurdles. Early in 2025, Shell said it was stepping back from its involvement in offshore wind energy and wrote off the value of its investment in Atlantic Shores. The project was also bid into New Jersey’s fourth wind solicitation but the state ended that round without selecting projects leaving Atlantic Shores without its necessary power agreements.
Local opponents celebrated Friday’s decision. They reported they have also written to the Interior Department and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration asking them to reconsider the approvals granted during the Biden administration.
The American Clean Power Association warned that Friday’s decision “could chill investment in the U.S. for all types of infrastructure if a project permit is canceled for political reasons and not because of real impacts.”
In the last weeks of the Biden administration, BOEM approved other offshore wind projects including SouthCoast Wind which would serve Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and the Maryland Offshore Wind project. It approved a total of 11 projects and set in motion reviews for others. Since taking office Trump has stalled the future reviews and with Friday’s decision concerns are being raised about the projects approved but not yet in construction. The concern is that the Trump administration will use other loopholes such as the EPA permit for Atlantic Shores to delay the approved projects.