Do offshore wind farms harm whales? Experts weigh in as Trump labels them ‘dangerous’ [Miami Herald]
COA Steven K. Katona Chair in Marine Sciences Sean Todd and others are countering claims that offshore wind turbines are harming whales.
In recent months, President Donald Trump has repeatedly said offshore wind turbines are harming, and perhaps killing, whales. “They’re dangerous,” he said during a Jan. 7 news conference, citing a string of whale strandings in Massachusetts. “The windmills are driving the whales crazy, obviously.”
In fact, as of August 2023, the US only had two operational offshore wind farms — located off Rhode Island and Virginia, according to the Department of Energy. By contrast, the UK alone, as of 2022, had 44 offshore farms.
“This is a complex issue, but in my opinion the answer is a hard no. There is no evidence linking whale deaths to wind turbine activity,” said Sean Todd, the director of Allied Whale, a marine mammals research program at College of the Atlantic.