Republicans, wind and Denmark

President Donald Trump has taken jabs at offshore wind all year. On Monday, he threw a haymaker that threatens to knock the U.S. industry to the mat.

The president’s decision to pause construction of five offshore wind projects capable of powering nearly 2.7 million homes along the East Coast marked an escalation of a yearlong effort to shut down the industry, jolting the political debate surrounding rising electricity prices.

In New England, the regional grid operator warned the stoppage could send power prices soaring and threaten the reliability of its six-state electric system. In Virginia, the utility building the country’s largest coastal wind project said the pause hinders its ability to keep up with rising electricity consumption from data centers. And on Capitol Hill, the order threatened to stymie a long-debated bipartisan energy permitting bill winding its way through Congress. Senate Democrats said Monday they were halting negotiations over the bill in response to the stoppage.

Rising electricity prices have emerged as a growing political problem for Trump’s party and as a campaign theme for Democrats hoping to claw back control of Congress next year. And Trump’s newest move jeopardizes major new power sources that were already on their way to completion.

Danish renewables giant Orsted fell sharply in late trading after the U.S. Department of the Interior said Monday it was suspending leases on five offshore wind projects already under construction. U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum cited national security concerns as the reason for the pause.