Wind power off Virginia causes turbulence for Republicans

Donald Trump's move to stop five huge offshore wind power projects along the US east coast did not just attract the attention of environmentalists. Protest also came from within his own party ranks. Nine Republican MPs did not want to accept the end of the renewable energy project unchallenged.

"US energy policy should be based on facts, fiscal responsibility and the national interest - not ideology or politics," they wrote in a joint letter to the government, demanding an explanation.

Locally, they are under pressure just a few months before the next mid-term elections. One of the MPs is Jen Kiggans, a former Navy helicopter pilot.

Trump's cuts hit Republicans harder

She represents a coastal district in Virginia where an 11.5 billion dollar (9.1 billion Swiss francs) wind farm was supposed to create around 1,000 jobs. And she has to fear for her seat in the House of Representatives in the November elections.

Jen Kiggans from Virginia is swimming against the tide with the Republicans.

KEYSTONE

According to the business association E2, projects worth almost 35 billion dollars (27.7 billion Swiss francs) fell victim to Trump's cuts to renewable energies last year.

According to the report, the investment losses hit Republican constituencies almost twice as hard as Democratic ones. Following rulings by federal courts, four projects, including the one in Virginia, are at least currently back on track.

"Stupid and ugly" wind turbines

The US President hardly has a good word to say about wind power. He denigrates support from the Democratic Party for renewable energies as a "Green New Scam" and speaks of his hatred of "stupid and ugly" wind turbines. On the very first day of his second term in office, Trump issued an executive order against wind power projects.

He emphasizes that "smart countries" do not use wind power. Solar power doesn't come off much better either. "You drive around and you see all these turbines that are three miles long and three miles wide and you wonder, what the hell is that?" is a statement Trump made last summer.

In the case of wind power, the government even agreed to pay a French company one billion dollars to withdraw from two US offshore contracts and invest in oil and natural gas projects instead.

Electricity for hundreds of thousands of households

Republican MPs could find themselves in a difficult position in their constituencies, explains Stephen Farnsworth from the University of Mary Washington in Virginia.

"Kiggans is not the only Republican to come under pressure," he says. Trump is focusing on his priorities, he says, and the country is facing economic problems that have been exacerbated by the Iran war.

The offshore wind turbines, which Trump dismisses as ugly, are usually located many miles off the coast. The project in Virginia is more than 40 kilometers. According to the operator Dominion Energy, it is expected to create 1,000 jobs and generate an economic output of around two billion dollars.

The first electricity has already been fed into the grid. Once completed, the project could supply 2.6 gigawatts of electricity to the grid with 176 wind turbines. That would be enough to supply more than 660,000 households.

Balancing act before the elections

Whether Kiggan's objection will win votes remains to be seen. Critics accuse her of having voted in favor of a Trump legislative package that also includes cuts to renewable energies.

Kiggans voted for a law "that makes energy more expensive", says her Democratic rival Elaine Luria. This undermines the Republican's attempt to "sell herself as a moderate".

Kiggans defended her vote on Facebook: It "wasn't about politics - it was about the overall outcome," she wrote. "I had ONE vote, and I voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act," she explained. "Not because it was perfect, but because it brings permanent tax relief for families and small businesses, rebuilds our Navy, and invests in national defense."

But that almost cost her constituents the wind power project, explained Dan Taylor of the BlueGreen Alliance of environmental and labor groups. In the end, Kiggans "backed a government that was determined to destroy the offshore wind industry".