Democrats Press Interior Chief on Wind and Solar Energy Hurdles

 Democrats pressed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum over the Trump administration’s policies throttling clean-energy projects.

Democrats pressed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum over languishing clean-energy projects—a clash that has escalated since the Trump administration paid a company to halt its offshore wind plans.

Rep. Jared Huffman (D., Calif.) said the administration has been “bullying offshore wind into abandoning billions in investments” and that the throttling of some renewable projects is “driving U.S. energy policy down a one-way street of fossil fuel dependency,” during a House Committee on Offshore Resources on Wednesday. “And now it’s crashing the car with the war in Iran.”

“I know people keep saying it’s ideological. It’s not; there’s a real national security risk,” said Burgum, referencing recent offshore wind pauses that the Trump administration said were necessary for confidential security reasons. 

Burgum spoke about increasing U.S. energy production, in part to win the artificial intelligence race with China, and said it is important to cut red tape for oil, gas, coal and critical mineral projects. He also said some renewable-energy sources are too expensive and unreliable, particularly when they are weather-dependent. 

“The key to the energy grid is having power that runs 24 hours a day,” he said.

Republicans backed Burgum at the hearing, with Rep. Tom McClintock (R., Calif.) saying his state of California’s “biggest fuel problem is not the war with Iran, it’s the war on fossil fuels.”

Democratic lawmakers questioned Burgum about his energy project priorities, particularly as oil-and-gas prices soar amid the war in Iran. They pointed to the administration’s recent deal to pay French power giant TotalEnergies $1 billion to drop its offshore wind projects.

“People’s electric bills are too high, and you are blocking projects,” said Rep. Seth Magaziner (D., R.I.), whose state hosts the Revolution Wind offshore wind project that was paused by the Trump administration.

House Democrats are scrutinizing TotalEnergies over its deal with the Trump administration, and Thomas DiNapoli, the New York state comptroller—who oversees the state’s retirement fund—has said he is considering dropping its stake in TotalEnergies over the settlement. The company’s CEO has defended the deal, and said offshore wind isn’t the most affordable way to produce electricity in the U.S.

The administration in December paused federal leases for a handful of offshore wind projects, but Danish renewable company Orsted, Norwegian company Equinor, and Virginia-based Dominion Energy ultimately prevailed after they fought the shutdowns in federal court.

President Trump has made his disdain for offshore wind clear, signing executive orders against the development of such projects within his first days in office and calling them ugly. He recently said his administration “will not approve windmills.”

Energy Secretary Chris Wright also criticized offshore wind in passing at an event later Wednesday, saying that “wind turbines take a giant amount of land, these giant industrial things.”

It’s not just offshore wind that is struggling. A clean-energy group said last week that the Pentagon is holding up more than 250 onshore wind projects. The Pentagon responded that its reviews, which include national security considerations, can take time.

Another point of contention at the hearing was the Interior Department’s policy adding new checks for wind- and solar-permitting approval, including a review by Burgum’s own office. A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction on the policy last month after wind and solar developers said in a lawsuit that the policy was intended to shut down their projects.

The idea that a single judge could dictate internal Interior Department permitting processes “is absurd,” Burgum said.

Rep. Susie Lee (D., Nev.) said the Interior Department’s actions have “created a total permitting mess” in her state. Lee said that while Nevada uses more solar than any other state in the country, new solar projects are stalling under the Trump administration.

Burgum said that the intermittent nature of sunshine makes relying on it for energy too uncertain. He also said he worries that solar equipment coming from China could put the U.S. grid at risk.

“When the sun goes down, they produce zero electricity,” he said. 

Advancements have been made in battery-storage capacity for solar power, but Republicans and Democrats tussled over the capabilities of such storage at the hearing, with Republicans arguing that battery-storage potential isn’t substantial enough.

Write to Clara Hudson at clara.hudson@wsj.com

Democrats Press Interior Chief on Wind and Solar Energy Hurdles - WSJ