Recent news reports have told us that the Trump Administration has delayed issuance of environmental certification of the Vineyard Wind project pending a cumulative review of the impact of all proposed off shore wind projects. Notwithstanding that the delay puts the project in jeopardy as the expiration of tax credits for renewable energy projects expire at the end of the year, the bigger issue is that the action lays bare the essential hypocrisy of this administration.
The problem here is that the Trump Administration delays renewable energy projects under the pretext of wanting to understand their cumulative impact. Okay fine, but how does one square this delay with leases and approvals for oil and gas exploration continuing unabated and without consideration of their cumulative impacts on the climate? It is hard not to conclude that the Trump Administration commitment to the short term profits of the fossil fuel industry takes precedence over the well-being of the climate, the country and the world.
I have to wonder; how are we to take seriously theoretical concerns about alternative energy when the proof of the harm done by fossil fuels is overwhelming, yet ignored? I cannot contort myself into coming to any other conclusion that the delay of Vineyard Wind is yet another cynical blocking of the necessary transition to a renewable energy system. Actually, the chilling effect this arbitrary action on future investment in renewable energy will ripple far into the future. Rational investors will shy away from investing in this country and we will be left further behind in the needed shift of our energy sources.
