Who is behind the growing pushback against offshore wind energy? – DW – 11/04/2024

Speaking at a rally in New Jersey in May, former US President Donald Trump vowed to scrap all wind energy projects on “day one” when he returns to the White House. Then in August, the Republican Party’s presidential candidate called wind a “terrible” energy and indirectly linked it to high bacon prices.

Trump’s opposition to wind turbines is not new. In 2013 he launched a legal challenge to stop the construction of a wind farm off the coast of his Scottish golf course, saying it would ruin the ocean views.

His latest claims that wind turbines cause massive property degradation, kill a disproportionate number of birds and whales, or that turbine noise is linked to cancer are false or exaggerated, according to FactCheck.org, a project of Annenberg Public at the University of Pennsylvania. Policy Center. But they are echoed by opponents of wind energy around the world.

In Australia, groups opposing a recently declared offshore wind and renewable energy zone in the Illawarra region south of Sydney worry that whales and property values ​​will suffer if turbines come to town.

Alex O’Brien, spokesperson for Responsible Future, a local coalition built on social media that opposes offshore wind energy in the Illawarra, told DW that even if turbines are subject to strict environmental impact assessments, they “cannot avoid major disruptions to marine life” in an area that is also “a migration corridor for humpback whales.”

But Patrick Simons, coordinator of the Yes2Renewables clean energy campaign, says the biggest disruption to marine life will occur in the construction phase, which could be slowed or stopped during the annual whale migrations to minimize the impact.

“There is no evidence that offshore wind energy harms whales,” the offshore wind advocate said, adding that oil drilling and climate change will be much worse for the animals. “These talking points reflect the claims coming out of the US. People have a common sense for nature. That is being manipulated by these false claims.”

But as offshore wind grows, so does opposition.

Offshore wind energy is expanding around the world

In line with a enormous expansion in the field of renewable energy, global offshore wind energy capacity increased almost tenfold between 2013 and 2023, reaching a capacity of 75.2 gigawatts (GW). But by 2050, around 2,500 GW will need to be installed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. according to one projection.

Offshore is seen as a key technology to decarbonize energy networks because ocean winds are more consistent at night, complementing solar and onshore wind power, while reducing dependence on high-emitting coal power, Patrick Simons said. The turbines are also larger than the land-based variants, which means they produce more power.

Wind energy is still in its relative infancy in the US, where the first large-scale offshore wind project recently began delivering power, and also in Australia, which has identified six areas for potential development. But the energy source already meets the electricity needs of 50% of households in Britain and has plans to quadruple capacity by 2030. Meanwhile, China plans to double its offshore capacity to 60 GW by 2025.

Who is behind the growing pressure against offshore wind energy?

In the US, not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) opposition campaigns, which may have genuine concerns, have been co-opted by fossil fuel-focused “climate obstruction networks,” says William Kattrup, a researcher at Brown University’s Climate and Development Lab. in Boston. Kattrup does co-author of ‘Against the Wind’, a study of the anti-offshore wind network on the east coast of the country.

“These new grassroots groups and veteran obstructionist think tanks share legal support, public speakers, leadership, information and tactical subsidies,” the authors of “Against the Wind” wrote.

The study’s authors say institutions previously called out for funding groups linked to climate change denial have donated to anti-offshore wind campaigns within the network. They identified approximately $72 million in contributions from the six “fossil fuel-interested donors” between 2017 and 2021.

In the northeastern U.S. state of New Jersey, offshore wind projects have run into “ground zero for vocal, well-organized opposition,” according to a recent AP report that referred to “so far unsubstantiated claims” that turbines are killing whales.

Support for New Jersey’s offshore wind industry fell from 80% four years earlier to 50% at the end of 2023, a survey says Stockton University poll in the same US state. About 71% of respondents said turbines would have a major impact on ocean views, and 68% said they would have a major impact on marine life.

“The (fossil fuels) industry has orchestrated a decades-long battle against climate initiatives such as offshore wind energy by lying, manipulating and misleading,” Kattrup said.

In contrast, the far-right, pro-fossil fuel Alternative for Germany (AfD) party’s move against the wind has not struck the same chord with the German population as anti-wind activists in the US, said Stefan Gsänger, secretary general of the Germany-based established World Wind Energy Association.

Opposition to offshore wind has been minimal in both Britain and Germany, even if it is among the highest numbers of operational wind farms in the worldaccording to the proponent of green energy. This is partly because installations are generally not visible from shore, and also because there is ‘in-depth community consultation’ in both countries.

Unite against offshore wind energy

Back in Australia, Anna Mackiewicz, campaigner in the Illawarra region for Yes2Renewables, said some of the resistance to offshore wind energy is based on a lack of consultation and an inherent “distrust of government”, including promises of thorough environmental impact assessments.

But she added that a recent attempt by the country’s center-right Liberal Party to support nuclear power over renewables is also being embraced as a justification for rolling back offshore wind.

On Facebook groups opposing the development of offshore wind energy, there is an increasing division between “renewable energy sources and nuclear energy,” the activist told DW. Nuclear power is seen as a “more responsible” way forward, she said – despite Australian researchers claiming nuclear power will be significantly more expensive than renewables and will take much longer to build.

Responsible Future denies any connection with fossil energy or nuclear interests. “Our initiatives and advocacy are not influenced by funding or influence from major fossil fuel” or “nuclear energy” entities,” the group states on its website.

Meanwhile, Responsible Future’s Alex O’Brien sees growing opposition to offshore wind in countries like the US as an opportunity to strengthen the anti-offshore movement.

“As the push for offshore wind energy increases worldwide, we want to build a network that amplifies our collective voice while ensuring the protection of our ecosystems and communities,” O’Brien told DW.

Edited by: Jennifer Collins