Why the Offshore Wind Freeze Is a Bad Signal for All Federally Permitted Projects

Businesses thrive on certainty. When a manufacturer plans expansion, it should know that an approved permit represents a rock-solid commitment that the project can move forward. When a lender finances infrastructure, it does so with the confidence that approved projects stay approved.

That's why the sudden freeze of five offshore wind projects over the holidays, after those projects had received every federal approval they required, should concern every business, chamber of commerce and economic development official in America.

It begs the question: Can businesses, and the chambers that support them, trust the permitting process?

When the federal government approves a major economic development or energy project through established processes, then reverses course months or years later, it sends a message to businesses and investors nationwide: approved does not mean approved. 

This uncertainty doesn't stop with these particular offshore wind projects. It lingers in the minds of business leaders, developers, and investors looking to build other forms of generation, manufacturing, mining, transmission, or any other project that relies on a stable, predictable federal permitting process.

Major manufacturing and infrastructure projects require long-term financing from investors who need assurance that rules don't change after a project is approved. Suppliers depend on the permitted project they’re supplying actually getting built. Communities plan their economic futures around permitted projects.

A permitting system that allows approved projects to be paused or reversed after the fact undermines confidence across the economy. When the U.S. processes are unpredictable, investors are inclined to take their projects elsewhere, literally offshore.