But the Feb. 9-12 conference also comes on the heels of five federal court decisions that granted restraining orders to halt stop-work edicts by President Donald Trump against five major East Coast offshore wind projects totaling 6 GW with an estimated $28 billion of investment at stake.

Conference leaders, builders, regulators and proponents relished that clean-sweep victory in the courts, and highlighted positive results from pilot offshore wind projects—and the first operating U.S. commercial-scale effort—in generating power to land-based grids. 

South Fork Wind, the first utility-scale offshore wind facility in U.S. waters, which began commercial operation in late 2024 off New York, generated power in 90% of the hours and on 362 of the days in 2025, ending the year with a capacity factor of 46.3%. “That is remarkable production from a wind turbine site,” Mikkel Maehlisen, head of U.S. offshore generation for developer-operator Orsted, told attendees. 

Turbines at the nation’s first permitted wind project, the 800-MW Vineyard Wind off Massachusetts that has been sending 579 MW of power to the state grid since last year, has generating capacity “as high as 75% … when the grid needed it most,” added Liz Burdock, CEO of Baltimore-based Oceantic Network, the conference sponsor. “Performance will matter more than rhetoric."

'Reimagining Is Not Retreat'

But even with no federal participation for the first time and signs of retrenchment for projects earlier in development, state officials, industry executives and other sector participants voiced commitment to advance offshore wind and boost investor, supply chain and workforce confidence.

“We are designing a new model for offshore wind. Reimagining is not retreat,” said Burdock. "Reigniting requires action. Industry must show up with solutions.”  She added that stopping projects already operating or under construction “has real consequences.”  

Despite the pullback in federal support, private investors have not abandoned the sector. “Clean energy has speed and time to market that hyperscalers need," Benjamin Bielawski, portfolio manager and senior research analyst at Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co., told a Barron's webinar Feb. 12. He said clean energy still has major benefit in directly powering data centers. “We know demand is there, it's a timing issue. We are not building renewables fast enough, and the U.S. could be undersupplied in the next three years."

Janice Schneider, a partner in law firm Latham & Watkins LLP who represented several developers in their recent wins against the Trump orders, noted the impact of the rulings, saying, “That we’re 6-0 against the government, [including a 2025 ruling in an earlier lawsuit against one project] will make it harder for agencies to issue decisions that have a stranglehold [on offshore wind]."

The strategy rethink comes as administration anti-wind measures are likely to continue. While previously mum on any intent to officially appeal the restraining orders, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a Feb. 11 interview with Bloomberg that the agency “absolutely” will do so, claiming offshore wind turbines are at risk of attack by “autonomous submarines.” Burgum denied that the stop-work order is part of a federal “ideological attack” on offshore wind. 

But the administration also had cited turbine interference with radar systems in its stop-work orders, despite the fact that other countries have mitigated those effects on systems and that U.S. project execs said in court filings that the Interior Dept. has yet to share new risk details with them.

UPDATE: Meanwhile, the administration on Feb. 17 also formally appealed to the federal appeals court in Boston, a Massachusetts district court order issued on Dec. 8, 2025 that struck down the Trump Jan. 20, 2025, executive order freezing all wind power project site leasing and permitting on federal lands and waters, according to a U.S. Justice Dept. filing. The freeze order is being challenged by Massachusetts. New York, 15 other states and the District of Columbia.

There also is concern over sunsetting tax credits in last year’s OBBB budget law that could delay or shelve up to 75% of U.S. offshore and onshore wind projects after 2027, years earlier than originally set in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, said a new report by Enverus Intelligence Research. “Without tax credit benefits, the levelized cost of energy for new projects in [some] regions is estimated to nearly double,” the report said.

Even so, investors are out there, speakers noted. “America is blessed by access to capital. How do we make it so it’s stable?" said Christina Baworowsky, senior vice president of Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions, a right-leaning nonprofit organization. "We're working to educate Republicans to understand what these projects do ... that they are producing electricity."

New York Moves the Needle

With New York leading the U.S. in offshore wind power commitment with three projects contracted, Doreen Harris, president of the NY State Energy Research Administration, noted 150 turbines will be generating power as the region expects to see a 25% growth in its energy load. 

But the agency announced Feb. 13 it canceled its latest wind solicitation, amounting to about 4 GW that was already delayed from last year as the Trump attacks escalated, with no contracts awarded and bids withdrawn. "Given the current level of uncertainty, it would not be prudent to enter into new long-term ... purchase and sale agreements at this time," NYSERDA said.

Harris noted a new agency Request for Information that seeks to expand its project pipeline to possibly include state co-investment for pre-development efforts. The RFI admits past project development actions “have eroded investor confidence with many developers and supply-chain partners slowing or pausing project development or even causing developers to exit the market." Comments are due March 10.

Offshore wind has been expected to propel New York's drive to meet renewable energy targets set in its landmark climate law, enacted in 2019 by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Those include mandates for 9 GW of offshore wind by 2035, as well as 70% renewable energy by 2030. As of 2024, the state was at 23.6% renewable, with its three offshore wind projects totaling about 1.8 GW,

Gov. Kathy Hochul now is weighing possible changes in current climate law mandates during current state budget negotiations.

The state has already launched a $300-million competitive funding effort to help ports retain flexibility for future offshore wind and regulations finalized Feb. 12 to reduce schedule and cost of grid modernization projects, with permitting time cut by up to 50%, officials said.

"We know the market has been tested. We adjusted our approach but didn’t abandon the mission," Harris said. "Offshore wind is not just about clean energy, it's about economic competitiveness."

Acknowledging bumps in adapting some offshore wind procurement and cost processes from Europe, Georges Sassine, NYSERDA senior vice president of large-scale resources, pointed to new state efforts to "pause" its model, "de-risk its project framework, continue building and scale significantly when we can."

Added Kent Herzog, Burns & McDonnell vice president of northeast environmental services in a keynote: “We wanted offshore wind, but we also wanted low prices, minimum risk exposure, rapid timelines and one-off procurements that didn’t require long-term coordination," an unachievable mix "for a first-of-its-kind industrial system.”

He said: "It’s tempting to blame recent setbacks on politics, post-COVID economics or supply chain shocks. Those factors mattered, but they didn’t create the fragility we’re seeing today. They exposed it. The uncomfortable truth is this: we didn’t design the system to withstand stress. This isn’t a technology crisis. Offshore wind works. It isn’t a crisis of capital. Money was available. And it isn’t a crisis of intent. Many people across government and industry acted in good faith. It’s a crisis of structure. We treated offshore wind like a transaction. But offshore wind behaves like infrastructure. That distinction matters." 

According to the sector construction veteran: "Anyone who has worked on megaprojects, from transportation to energy to water infrastructure, has seen it before. When ambition outruns structure, risk accumulates quietly until it surfaces loudly." He continued: "Whether we choose to move forward with offshore wind or choose a different path, we owe ourselves a more honest conversation about what infrastructure really requires." 

Despite the mea culpas, "I am an absolute believer in this market," said Tim Fischer, global executive director for wind at Denmark-based engineering firm Ramboll, which also has worked extensively on China projects. "Offshore wind is a global industry. We need to find disruptive solutions until the market reopens. What can we do differently in the U.S.?"

Meanwhile, California continues to boost its offshore wind and other clean energy development, signing an agreement Feb. 16 directly with the UK, without Trump administration involvement, to connect their sectors' innovation, investment and market potential. “Strong international partnerships like today’s announcement with the State of California strengthens opportunities for UK businesses and secures investment for our country,” said UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband. London-based developer Octopus Energy already has pledged to invest about $1 billion in California-based renewable projects, said sector publication Recharge. The UK now has the world's first floating offshore wind system, a 30-MW effort operating in Scotland, with California targeting 25 GW of capacity using that technology by 2045 and committing more funding and expedited permitting to offset federal constraints. 

Canada also aims to to fill gaps in the U.S. offshore wind power supply, as Nova Scotia signed a supply agreement this month with Massachusetts, particularly from the province's developing Wind West project. The estimated $60-billion effort is set to produce 5 GW of power by 2033 in its first phase, with bi-national collaboration in market coordination, grid integration and supply chain development. The UK also is weighing whether to allow Chinese turbine maker Mingyang to build a Scotland factory to supply British projects, which the U.S. has opposed, citing national security risks.

With up to 60 GW of offshore wind potential in the province, “We can’t take our tides or winds somewhere else,” Nova Scotia Prime Minister Tim Houston told the conference in a pitch for developers and builders. “We intend to use them responsibly and strategically.” He noted Canada's established regulatory system, adding that Wind West could have capacity to meet 25% of is own energy needs.

“Our agreement with Massachusetts signals to developers that markets for their clean energy are solidifying, giving them even more confidence to invest in our new offshore wind industry,” Houston said. "We’re on the verge of our first call for bids to license the first offshore wind projects in Canada, and we’re advancing Wind West to build the transmission infrastructure to send that clean energy to markets,” despite observers' speculation the grid buildout will be difficult and expensive.