USDOT Terminates or Withdraws
$679M From Offshore Wind Projects
WASHINGTON—U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy withdrew or terminated a total of $679 million in funding for 12 doomed offshore wind projects across America.
The actions taken on Aug. 29 included $49 million in federal funding for The Arthur Kill Terminal offshore wind project in Staten Island, NY. In addition, offshore wind projects in Connecticut and New Jersey lost more than $31 million. USDOT stated that the project funding terminations are intended to direct federal dollars to other maritime improvement and to prevent waste.
The Trump Administration has refocused USDOT and its Maritime Administration (MARAD) on rebuilding shipbuilding capacity. The USDOT stated that, where possible, funding from these projects will be recompeted to address other port upgrades and infrastructure needs.
USDOT identified 12 offshore wind grants and project selections that were not aligned with the goals and priorities of the administration.
USDOT has withdrawn one project in the Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects (INFRA) program, resulting in a total retraction of roughly $427 million.
MARAD has withdrawn six projects and terminated five within its Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP), resulting in a total retraction of $177 million and roughly $75 million, respectively.
Withdrawn
• Sparrows Point Steel Marshalling Port Project (Maryland) (PIDP; $47,392,500)
• Bridgeport Port Authority Operations and Maintenance Wind Port Project (Connecticut) (PIDP: $10,530,000)
• Wind Port at Paulsboro (New Jersey (PIDP; $20,494,025)
• Arthur Kill Terminal, Staten Island, NY (PIDP; $48,008,231)
• Gateway Upgrades for Access, Resiliency & Development at the Port of Davisville Project, Rhode Island (PIDP; $11,250,000)
• Norfolk Offshore Wind Logistics Port, Virginia (PIDP; $39,265,000)
• Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind, California (INFRA; $426,719,810)
Terminated
• Redwood Marine Terminal Project Planning, California (PIDP; $8,672,986)
• Salem Wind Port Project, Massachusetts, PIDP; $33,835,953)
• Lake Erie Renewable Energy Resilience Project, Michigan (PIDP; $11,051,586)
• Radio Island Rail Improvements in Support of Offshore Wind, North Carolina (PIDP; $1,679,604)
• Portsmouth Marine Terminal Offshore Wind Development, Virginia (PIDP; $20,000,000)
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, Rhode Island Gov. Dan Mckee and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy issued a joint statement on Labor Day reaffirming their support for offshore wind projects and criticizing the Trump administration for withdrawing funding.
The governors stated: “We are looking for the Trump Administration to uphold all offshore wind permits already granted and allow these projects to be constructed. Efforts to walk back these commitments jeopardize hardworking families, wasting years of progress and ceding leadership to foreign competitors. Workers, businesses, and communities need certainty, not reversals that would cost tens of thousands of American jobs and critical investment.”
The governors stated that these sudden reversals would also impact countless other workers and taxpayers on scores of non-energy public projects. “The U.S. markets operate on certainty. Canceling projects that have already been fully permitted—including some near completion—sends the worrisome message to investors that the work can be stopped on a whim, which could lead them to decide to either not finance different projects or impose higher interest rates that would ultimately place a bigger burden on taxpayers.”
Published: September 3, 2025.