The Trump administration canceled offshore wind funding across 12 grants
The Trump administration canceled offshore wind funding on 12 federal grants for ports and highways that serve offshore wind projects, worth 679 million dollars combined. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the action August 29, 2025. The grants came from 2 different federal programs inside the Transportation Department, one for highway and freight infrastructure and a narrower one just for ports.
Duffy explained the decision this way.
Wasteful, wind projects are using resources that could otherwise go towards revitalizing America's maritime industry.
Sean Duffy, United States Transportation Secretary. Source 1.
A separate 716 million dollar Energy Department loan guarantee withdrawal for New Jersey transmission infrastructure was announced around the same time, but it is a different agency and a different action, and does not add to the 679 million dollar transportation total.
Why the government canceled offshore wind port funding in 3 categories
The largest single grant, 427 million dollars, came from the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America program, run by the Federal Highway Administration. It paid for a heavy lift marine terminal at Humboldt Bay, California, built to load and ship offshore wind turbine parts too large to move by road. That 1 grant is worth more than the other 11 combined.
The rest came from the Port Infrastructure Development Program, run by the Maritime Administration, which pays for port construction. The Transportation Department withdrew 6 of these grants, worth 177 million dollars combined, meaning the award had been made but the funding agreement was never finalized. It terminated another 5 grants outright, worth 75 million dollars combined, meaning an already signed agreement was ended midway.
The 3 categories sum to 679 million dollars, the same 12 grants Duffy announced counted 2 ways.
Show the numbers
| Highway grant Humboldt Bay | 427 |
| Port grants withdrawn | 177 |
| Port grants terminated | 75 |
Adding the exact figures behind those 3 categories, 426,719,810 dollars, 176,939,756 dollars and 75,240,129 dollars, comes to 678,899,695 dollars, matching the 679 million dollar total Duffy announced to within rounding, and confirming that the itemized grant list and the headline figure describe the same 12 grants counted 2 different ways.
The largest grants the government canceled
Beyond Humboldt Bay, the next largest grants went to ports in New York, Maryland and Massachusetts. Arthur Kill, New York lost 48 million dollars. Sparrows Point, Maryland lost 47 million dollars. Norfolk, Virginia lost 39 million dollars. Salem Wind Port, Massachusetts lost 34 million dollars, one of the grants terminated outright rather than withdrawn.
The Humboldt Bay grant alone is worth more than the next 4 largest grants combined.
Show the numbers
| Humboldt Bay, California highway grant | 427 |
| Arthur Kill, New York port grant | 48 |
| Sparrows Point, Maryland port grant | 47 |
| Norfolk, Virginia port grant | 39 |
| Salem Wind Port, Massachusetts port grant | 34 |
Ports say the work continues anyway
In Virginia, the government tried to terminate a 20 million dollar grant for the Portsmouth Marine Terminal after the project it funded was already finished. Skanska completed the terminal in March 2025, on time and on budget, with no unobligated federal money left to claw back, Virginia Port Authority spokesperson Joseph Harris said.
In California, the Humboldt Bay Harbor District said the loss of its 427 million dollar grant does not stop construction, because the money had never actually been disbursed. Executive Director Chris Mikkelsen told the district board the project is proceeding.
We're absolutely focused, shoulder to the wheel, on building a modern heavy lift marine terminal.
Chris Mikkelsen, Executive Director of the Humboldt Bay Harbor District. Source 4.