The Washington Post's editorial board on Monday bashed what it called President Donald Trump's "biggest broadside yet" against wind power.
On Monday, the Interior Department announced it halted all leases for offshore wind projects. The announcement followed months of attacks by Trump against wind energy. The move was condemned by environmental groups and even some of the president's allies in Congress.
WaPo's editorial board argued that the move will set the U.S. back as it seeks to create enough energy to "meet the demands of the AI boom."
"The decision injects a fresh dose of turmoil into five projects along the Eastern Seaboard, which together are projected to power more than 2.5 million homes," the editorial reads in part.
"Beyond the construction that has been stopped, at least for now, this is a blow to important efforts on Capitol Hill," the editorial continued. "Momentum has been building to address one of the most stubborn problems in the U.S. economy: the federal web of bureaucracy that has long ensnared American infrastructure projects."
"A truly technology-neutral permitting reform bill — that is, one which treats traditional carbon-based energy the same as renewable sources — might be able to pass the Senate, thereby unleashing the electricity needed to bring down energy costs," it added.