BP Halts Development Of Beacon Wind Off Nantucket

The developers behind Beacon Wind, one of several large offshore wind farms slated for installation south of Nantucket, have shuttered the project in the latest blow to the region’s struggling offshore wind industry.

JERA Nex BP, a collaboration between Britain’s BP and Japan’s JERA, announced their plans to halt development on the project and lay off all U.S. staff last week, citing the “present environment” amidst President Donald Trump’s aggressive push to stall and block offshore wind projects.

The project's developers believed the wind farm's planned 155 turbines could have powered one million homes, but JERA Nex BP said in a statement that despite the U.S. market’s “significant long-term potential for offshore wind, which we still believe can play a key role in the country’s energy transition,” they saw “no viable path to the development of our Beacon wind project and have concluded that we cannot continue our investment in the market.”

However, JERA Nex BP is retaining control of the lease area, and the company said that they will “wait for a more favorable moment to resume project development.”

Should the political and economic environment in the country change, JERA Nex BP would be poised to re-enter the offshore wind market.

Reached by the Current, JERA Nex BP communications manager stated the company "has taken the decision to reduce our activities in the US to a minimal level. For now, we will continue those activities necessary to maintain the Beacon lease. As a result of this decision, all US-based team members and some others supporting the Beacon project will leave the company in the coming months. This decision reflects the challenging macroeconomic and supply chain environment currently facing offshore wind globally, which has impacted the viability of many projects across the sector."

The 2.6 gigawatt wind farm, which would have been installed in two stages across a lease area totaling 128,000 acres, is the latest casualty of Trump’s rejection of offshore wind projects. In recent months, the President has blocked future federal leases for offshore wind, halted several projects already under construction, and revoked grant funding for offshore wind-related infrastructure projects.

BP’s move away from offshore wind comes as the company pivots back to oil and gas, long the core of its operations, beating a retreat from renewables.

In addition to hostility from Trump, offshore wind has also faced supply chain constraints in recent months. In their statement, BP JERA Nex cited “the challenging macroeconomic and supply chain environment currently facing offshore wind globally, which has impacted the viability of many projects across the sector.”