Offshore Wind Under Trump: Industry at a Glance

As Trump halts U.S. offshore wind projects, the global industry keeps expanding—led by China—while U.S. projects face legal fights.

President Donald Trump’s move to stop offshore wind projects in the United States lands just as the sector was reaching a new growth phase, with multiple projects already online or preparing to begin full operations.

Offshore wind energy is often pitched as a way to deliver large amounts of clean electricity to coastal regions. In the U.S., three offshore wind farms are open, while three additional projects have begun delivering power as they complete construction or final testing.

The Trump administration’s approach has also gone beyond slowing development through permitting.. It is buying back some federal offshore wind leases, providing payouts to companies to step away from offshore wind.. At the same time. the administration has used additional policy moves to place obstacles in the way of the industry while prioritizing fossil fuels.

That stance places the U.S.. at odds with many other countries that are embracing offshore wind turbines as part of a broader effort to meet rising electricity demand.. China. where Trump is attending a summit this week. is the leading example of that divergence. as wind turbines generate electricity without burning oil. coal. or natural gas.

Numbers help show how differently offshore wind is unfolding worldwide compared with the U.S.. On the global map, 19 countries and markets are powered with offshore wind energy.. China is the leader in both the number of installed wind farms and their capacity, followed by the U.K.. and Germany, according to the Global Wind Energy Council.. The report also lists the Netherlands. Taiwan. Denmark. Belgium. France. Vietnam. South Korea. Japan. Sweden. the United States. Norway. Finland. Italy. Portugal. Ireland and Spain among places building offshore wind projects.

In 2025. China added 6.6 gigawatts of new offshore wind capacity. bringing its total to 48.4 gigawatts by the end of that year. the figures cited by the Global Wind Energy Council show.. Even as policy fights continue in the U.S.. GWEC data indicates offshore wind continues to scale worldwide: globally. enough offshore wind energy was added in 2025 to power 10.2 million homes.. That total was nearly 9.3 gigawatts and marked a 16% increase over the previous year. and the industry can currently produce the energy equivalent of 102 million homes. GWEC calculated.

Looking ahead, China is expected to dominate new offshore wind growth.. The forecast from 2026 to 2030 has China accounting for about 56% of the offshore wind capacity expected to be added worldwide.. The European Union is projected to contribute about 29%, while the U.S.. is expected to account for about 5% in that period, according to the same GWEC projections.

While those international projections unfold, the U.S.. picture is more fragmented.. The three offshore wind farms already open in the country include Block Island Wind Farm off Rhode Island. Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind as a Dominion Energy pilot in federal waters. and South Fork Wind. the first large U.S.. offshore project sending power to New York.

The other three projects highlighted in the U.S.. include Vineyard Wind in Massachusetts. Revolution Wind in Rhode Island. and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind at full scale. adjacent to the pilot turbines off Virginia Beach.. Vineyard Wind is noted as the furthest along of the three and is expected to reach full operations in the coming months.

The shift toward delays began with an order issued by the Trump administration in December. when construction was stopped on all five East Coast offshore wind projects that were under construction at the time.. The administration cited national security concerns. affecting Vineyard Wind. Revolution Wind and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind. and also pausing two major projects for New York: Empire Wind and Sunrise Wind.

However, developers and state governments challenged the pause in court. Federal judges allowed all five projects to resume construction, effectively concluding that the government did not show the national security risk was so imminent that work had to be halted.

Even with the court rulings, the U.S.. development pipeline continues to depend on timing, regulatory decisions, and broader market conditions.. That uncertainty stands in contrast to projects already at scale overseas, such as Hornsea 2 in the U.K.. The world’s largest operating offshore wind farm, Hornsea 2, has 165 turbines.. Located in the North Sea 55 miles from England’s Yorkshire coast and next to Hornsea 1. it generates enough energy to power over 1.4 million U.K.. homes and spans 178 square miles.

The U.K. expansion also continues beyond that current footprint. Another U.K. offshore wind project under construction is described as set to surpass Hornsea 2.

Back in the U.S., supporters of the sector emphasize not only energy output but also jobs and supply-chain development. The American Clean Power Association estimates that 18,000 jobs in the United States are supported by the offshore wind industry.

That economic activity can be seen in the details of individual projects.. Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind is expected to produce enough electricity for up to 660. 000 homes and began sending power to the electric grid in March.. The 2.6-gigawatt project is described as the largest U.S.. wind farm to date. and the offshore wind advocacy group Turn Forward ties its location to a region with major data center infrastructure and critical U.S.. military infrastructure.

For Massachusetts, the debate is also playing out through consumer costs.. Vineyard Wind is projected to save Massachusetts customers $1.4 billion on their electricity bills over the next 20 years. according to the office of Gov.. Maura Healey.. The report points to Vineyard Wind’s impact in wholesale electricity markets. where it reportedly lowered prices during the past winter by consistently offering lower prices than other electricity sources.

The project is also described as a milestone in the timeline of U.S.. offshore wind under the current administration.. Vineyard Wind is identified as the first offshore wind project to finish construction during Trump’s tenure.. It has 62 turbines that are expected to generate a total of 800 megawatts, enough clean electricity to power about 400,000 homes.

Beyond direct power generation and near-term rate impacts, supporters argue offshore wind has already driven a broader investment footprint.. Oceantic Network. a nonprofit advancing the offshore energy sector. says offshore wind development has produced $25.5 billion in investments into U.S.. ports, the steel industry, transmission upgrades, shipbuilding, workforce training, and research and development.

Oceantic’s account also emphasizes how those investments translate into a wider industrial network.. The report says the domestic supply chain for the industry includes more than 1,000 U.S.. companies across at least 40 states.. It also estimates that canceling a 1-gigawatt project in the Northeast could produce nearly a $10 billion economic hit. driven mainly by lost jobs and investments. while ratepayers would also lose energy savings.

The tension at the center of this story is whether the U.S.. can maintain momentum as other countries continue to scale offshore wind capacity.. With China expected to account for the largest share of new global capacity through 2030 and with U.S.. projects continuing to fight through court challenges and delayed timelines. the outcome could shape not just energy policy. but industrial competitiveness—especially in ports. shipbuilding. and grid upgrades where long lead times often determine how quickly future projects can come online.

For now, offshore wind in the U.S.. remains in a high-stakes phase: some projects are producing or preparing to produce electricity. others were paused and then allowed to restart. and the policy environment continues to send mixed signals to investors and states planning for long-term energy needs.. The global data suggests the technology is moving forward quickly elsewhere, even as the U.S.. debate reshapes the pace at which coastal regions may be able to tap it.

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