By Jennifer Stefano
The environmental left claims that industrial wind is saving the planet. Instead, it’s destroying it.
For decades, Americans have been told that wind power was the clean, responsible alternative to fossil fuels. But that sales pitch was built on a lie. The truth is that wind energy wrecks landscapes, pollutes oceans, kills wildlife, and generates mountains of waste—all while sucking up billions in government subsidies.
The environmental destruction has been obvious for years. In the 1990s, researchers sounded the alarm after California’s Altamont Pass wind farm started slaughtering golden eagles, hawks, and other birds by the thousands. The industry didn’t stop. It expanded.
A 2013 study published in the Wildlife Society Bulletin estimated that wind turbines killed 573,000 birds and 888,000 bats every year in the U.S. alone. Residents near wind farms started reporting “wind turbine syndrome”—chronic headaches, sleep disruption, and nausea caused by the constant low-frequency noise of the spinning blades, including in Calhan, Colorado. But the wind industry—and its allies in government—ignored the warnings.
Wind Energy Is an Economic and Environmental Failure
By the 2020s, the damage from wind power was undeniable.
Yet in March 2021, the Biden administration ignored all warnings and charged ahead with a plan to install 30,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) documented serious risks to marine life, including the already endangered North Atlantic right whale, but those concerns were brushed aside.
Then came the financial collapse. By 2022, wind energy was in crisis. The cost of wind turbines skyrocketed, forcing Germany and Denmark—two of the most wind-dependent nations—to scale back expansion. In the U.S., major offshore wind projects in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut collapsed under financial losses. Coastal communities and commercial fishermen fought back, filing lawsuits against wind developers for destroying fishing grounds and wiping out marine ecosystems.
Meanwhile, wind energy’s waste crisis exploded. By 2024, reports confirmed that wind turbine blades—made of fiberglass and plastic composites—are nearly impossible to recycle. The U.S. alone is expected to discard 720,000 tons of these blades in the next 20 years. Some landfills have started taking them, while others have resorted to incineration, which releases toxic chemicals into the air.
Wind Turbines Destroy Land and Water
Wind energy isn’t just a disaster when the turbines run—it’s a disaster when they’re built.
Every turbine requires massive amounts of raw materials—copper, rare earth minerals, steel, and concrete. Mining for these materials has devastated land, poisoned water, and displaced entire communities.
Copper mining—essential for wind turbine production—has led to deforestation and toxic runoff. The Resolution Copper mine in Arizona threatens sacred Apache lands, where local tribes have fought to stop development. In Chile and Peru, massive copper mines have contaminated rivers and forced families from their homes.
And rare earth mining is even worse. In Inner Mongolia, radioactive waste from rare earth refineries has poisoned entire regions, leaving behind toxic lakes where nothing grows, and no one can live.
Offshore Wind Is Killing Our Oceans
It’s not just land that’s being destroyed. Offshore wind is wrecking marine life.
Seismic testing, pile-driving, and constant turbine operation have been linked to mass die-offs of marine mammals—including the North Atlantic right whale. BOEM’s own environmental impact reports acknowledge that offshore wind turbines disrupt ocean currents, interfere with fish migration, and destroy marine habitats—yet the projects keep moving forward.
Fishermen in New Jersey have sued wind developers, arguing that offshore wind construction has driven fish stocks to collapse. Their lawsuits make one thing clear: wind energy has devastated local economies while failing to deliver the environmental benefits it promised.
Wind Energy Only Survives on Government Handouts
If power from wind was so successful, it wouldn’t need billions in taxpayer subsidies to stay afloat.
Yet wind energy has never been financially viable. In 2024, New York canceled three major offshore wind projects because of skyrocketing costs and lack of investment.
In New Jersey, officials have canceled plans for more offshore wind projects. Christine Guhl-Sadovy, president of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, said awarding new contracts “would not be a responsible decision at this time.” Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration, once fully committed to offshore wind, has backed off and postponed new solicitations. This isn’t just a delay—it’s a financial reality check.
And, in a shocking reversal, Shell has pulled out of New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm, walking away from a project that was once heralded as a game-changer. When one of the world’s largest energy companies decides it’s a bad bet, that tells you everything you need to know.
New Jersey ratepayers were expected to shoulder the burden through state-mandated power purchase agreements. But as costs spiraled out of control and projects faltered, even the Murphy administration had to admit the obvious: offshore wind is simply too expensive to justify.
Massachusetts also just pulled the plug on yet another offshore wind project – and the reason is painfully simple— the numbers didn’t add up. Developers promised cheap, reliable energy. But it’s not what they deliver. Instead, MA taxpayers were served skyrocketing costs, financial losses, and projects that couldn’t stand independently without massive taxpayer-funded subsidies. The state’s Commonwealth Wind project collapsed after Avangrid admitted the project was no longer “economically viable”. Translation: they needed more government bailouts to keep it afloat.
This isn’t a one-off failure—it’s a pattern. Cape Wind, once the poster child for offshore wind in America, died in 2017when utilities bailed on their agreements, realizing they were throwing money into a black hole. And now? Even Massachusetts—one of the most aggressively pro-wind states—is watching the industry implode under its own weight. Costs are too high. Promises are too weak. And the so-called clean energy future is looking a whole lot like a taxpayer-funded scam.
New Hampshire got the memo. NH has recently passed an energy policy—without offshore wind. Lawmakers deliberately stripped it out, acknowledging what’s been obvious for years: offshore wind is a costly, unreliable power source that doesn’t belong in a serious energy strategy.
They aren’t the only states:
New York: New York canceled three major offshore wind projects in April 2024, totaling over 4 gigawatts. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) blamed “technical and commercial complexities” for the cancellations.
Connecticut: Avangrid pulled out of its Park City Wind project in October 2023, a planned offshore wind farm meant to power the state. Rising costs forced the company to cancel its contract and pay a $16 million penalty.
Florida: The state has banned offshore wind farms outright, doubling down on fossil fuels instead. More than 80% of Florida’s electricity now comes from gas and coal.
Oklahoma: A movement is underway to ban new renewable energy projects, including wind. This push reflects growing opposition to wind development in parts of the country.
American states aren’t alone. Even Denmark—a country that has pushed wind power for years—tried to auction off 10 gigawatts of offshore wind but got zero bids when the government refused to provide more subsidies.
If the private sector won’t invest in wind without guaranteed handouts, why should American taxpayers?
Offshore wind has been built on wrong-minded political promises, taxpayer subsidies, and regulatory carve-outs. But reality is setting in, and even its most loyal supporters are starting to abandon ship.
Offshore Wind’s Cost Nightmare
For all the talk about offshore wind being the future, it has never been economically viable without significant fossil fuel usage. Every project hinges on an ever-expanding web of federal tax credits, state subsidies, and sweetheart deals that push the financial risk onto ratepayers. Despite this overwhelming government support, projects are collapsing under their own weight.
Always on Energy Research’s recent study of ISO New England (ISO-NE) – which manages the electricity grid in the six New England states – puts it bluntly: offshore wind is one of the most expensive energy sources on the regional grid. It doesn’t deliver on its promises.
In the study, AOER found three key things: wind drives up electricity costs for families and businesses, it undermines grid reliability by injecting more intermittent power, and it is dependent on permanent government subsidies to succeed.
And they’re right. AOER’s recent study on ISO New England confirms what industry insiders have known for years—offshore wind is an economic disaster waiting to happen.
Finally, Someone in Government Is Paying Attention
In January 2025, President Donald Trump stepped in. He issued an executive order halting new offshore wind energy leases and calling for a full review of their economic and environmental impact.
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum is now leading that review, and for the first time, the wind industry is facing real scrutiny. The order pauses new approvals, permits, and loans for both onshore and offshore wind projects—a move that has forced companies to reassess their investments.
It’s Time to End the Wind Energy Disaster
If any other industry—especially oil, gas, or nuclear—had this level of environmental destruction, activists would be demanding accountability.
Yet wind energy has been given a free pass, despite its massive waste, destruction of wildlife, and financial collapse.
Policymakers need to stop approving wind projects without demanding full transparency and accountability. The government should stop using taxpayer money to prop up an industry that cannot sustain itself.
Wind energy is not the future. It’s a failed experiment that has left behind environmental devastation, financial ruin, and a waste problem that will last for generations.