HALTING OPERATIONS – BP Wind Venture to Halt US Operations as Sector Faces Pushback

An offshore wind venture between BP Plc and Japan’s Jera Co. plans to close its operating activities in the US as the clean energy resource faces pressure from the Trump administration.

JERA Nex bp — the merged offshore wind units of the two companies — said all team members in the US market will leave in the coming months, according to a statement posted on its website. The firm had planned to build the 2.5-gigawatt Beacon wind farm off Massachusetts.

“Unfortunately, in the present environment we see no viable path to the development of our Beacon wind project and have concluded, that we cannot continue our investment in the market,” the company said.

President Donald Trump has moved to block several offshore wind projects since returning to office in January. Given many developments are planned in federal waters controlled by the US leader and his executive branch, that heavily exposes the projects to political risk.