Following the signing of a controversial bill into law, New Hampshire will soon begin to dismantle its fledgling offshore wind office. 

What's happening?

In August, New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte signed House Bill 682 into law. The bill focuses on a drastic restructure of the state's energy office, particularly its department committed to offshore wind energy production. The move appears to align with the Trump administration's position on the renewable energy resource.  

Starting in late September, the state will begin its restructuring by renaming the Office of Offshore Wind Industry Development and Energy Innovation to just the Office of Energy Innovation. New Hampshire will also repeal its workforce training and port development committees and move the grid modernization and hydrogen advisory councils to the Office of Energy Innovation.

Mireille Bejjani, co-executive director of the environmental advocacy non-profit Slingshot, spoke to Canary Media regarding the bill's impact in the state. "It's definitely discouraging, practically and symbolically, when it comes to our region moving toward offshore wind as a meaningful part of the energy mix," Bejjani said. 

Why is New Hampshire's removal of its offshore wind industry development office important?

In January, President Donald Trump issued several executive actions that impacted future wind energy projects. This included a memorandum that withdrew the Outer Continental Shelf from wind energy leasing, placed a ban on new offshore wind leasing, and enacted a review of existing leases. 

HB 682 marks a dramatic departure from former New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu's stance on wind energy. In a 2022 report on gas emissions in the state, Sununu noted that offshore wind energy production had "the potential to be an abundant source of renewable energy that can be generated at scale."

Offshore wind farms offer the ability to create stable and consistent renewable energy with higher efficiency than other energy sources, all while decreasing our need to rely on fossil fuels to generate energy. Not only can offshore wind farms help reduce gas emissions, but they can also create jobs and stabilize energy prices for residents. 

What's being done about HB 682?

For now, most critics of HB 682 argue that it greatly restricts energy production capabilities in the state. Nick Krakoff, senior attorney for the Conservation Law Foundation, explained that this represents a flawed ideology on a federal scale. "They'll say they are for all-of-the-above energy, but don't even want to consider offshore wind," Krakoff said. ​"They're not really looking at the full picture." 

Although HB 682 greatly impacts New Hampshire's ability to develop offshore wind energy projects in the short term, the door has not been completely shut. New Hampshire state senator David Watters included an amendment in the bill that allows the state's innovation office to revisit wind energy projects down the road. 

"The bill as it finally passed still kept a toehold in state government for being able to respond to or prepare for future offshore wind development," Watters said.  

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