BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey and other state leaders are blasting the Trump administration for clawing back $33.8 million in federal funding for a Salem project to support offshore wind development, saying the move jeopardizes hundreds of jobs and the state’s climate change goals.
The U.S. Department of Transportation on Friday canceled $679 million in federal funding for a dozen infrastructure projects that would support offshore wind, saying the plans “were not aligned with the goals and priorities of the administration.”
The cuts included a federal grant for the Salem Offshore Wind Terminal project, which got underway last summer after securing funding and getting state and federal permits.
“Wasteful, wind projects are using resources that could otherwise go towards revitalizing America’s maritime industry,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement. “Thanks to President Trump, we are prioritizing real infrastructure improvements over fantasy wind projects that cost much and offer little.”
The DOT said the federal funding will be redirected to upgrade ports and other projects aimed at “restoring America’s maritime dominance and preventing waste.”
But Healey called the decision to pull back the funds from the Salem terminal project a “slap in the face” to the estimated 800 workers who could lose their jobs if the project is scrapped. She said it also jeopardizes any future jobs tied to the facility and offshore wind production.
“There is nothing wasteful about this project, which has been supported by both a Democratic and Republican governor,” Healey, a Democrat, said in a statement. “The real waste here is the Trump Administration canceling tens of millions of dollars for a project that is already underway to increase our energy supply and support hundreds of workers and their families.”
Many of the projects affected by the funding cancellation are staging areas that would be used to build offshore wind turbines. Other states impacted included California, Virginia, New York and New Jersey. The largest grant canceled was for the Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind in California, with about $427 million in federal support withdrawn.
“In unlawfully and senselessly cutting hundreds of millions in federal funding to offshore wind projects, Trump just signed a death warrant for thousands of union jobs nationwide and guaranteed that families’ energy bills will continue to skyrocket,” Sen. Ed Markey, a Malden Democrat, said in a statement.
The $300 million Salem Offshore Wind Terminal, a partnership between Crowley Wind Services, Salem and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, calls for redeveloping a 42-acre site formerly occupied by a coal- and oil-fired power plant. The site would serve as a staging area for assembling and transporting wind turbine components to offshore wind farms.
It wasn’t immediately clear what the impact of the funding cuts would be on the project, which broke ground last August with plans to be completed by 2027. A Crowley spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
In July, Salem Mayor Dominick Pangallo and the terminal project’s developers had expressed confidence that construction would proceed despite Trump’s efforts to scuttle the offshore wind industry.
Trump has publicly railed against wind farms as “bird-killing monstrosities” and signed an executive order shortly after taking office January, declaring an energy “state of emergency” and temporarily pausing leases and permits for wind energy projects. His administration is focused on promoting fossil fuel energy sources over renewables.
Earlier this month, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management halted construction on Revolution Wind, a nearly complete offshore wind project near Rhode Island. Work was stopped also on Empire Wind, a New York offshore wind project, but later resumed after New York Sen. Chuck Schumer and Gov. Kathy Hochul, both Democrats, intervened.
In May, Attorney General Andrea Campbell and 16 other Democrats challenged the authority of President Trump to enforce a Jan. 20 executive order that halted wind energy projects along the East Coast from Maine to New Jersey.
The AGs said Trump’s decision to indefinitely pause federal wind-energy approvals is “unlawful” and called on a federal judge to block the order and restore permits for the projects.
Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.