Fact check: Debunking Trump's false claims on wind energy

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🗞️ Driving the news: US President Donald Trump has renewed a series of debunked claims against wind energy, alleging wind turbines harm whales, kill excessive numbers of birds, cannot be recycled, and are unreliable
• These assertions, widely circulated on social media, have been thoroughly fact-checked by DW, revealing them to be false or misleading — part of a broader pattern of disinformation undermining renewable energy during Trump’s administration

🔭 The context: In January 2025, Trump froze leasing for new offshore wind projects on federal lands, though allowed some previously approved developments, such as a major New York wind project, to resume
• Offshore wind is a cornerstone of US climate targets, with wind and solar surpassing coal in national electricity generation for the first time in 2024
• Anti-wind rhetoric now appears central to efforts by fossil fuel interests and political allies to slow down this transition

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Misinformation about renewable energy hampers climate action and public understanding
• Scientific assessments from NOAA confirm there is no evidence linking whale deaths to offshore wind activities; wind turbines contribute minimally to bird deaths compared to cats or buildings; and rotor blade recycling is advancing, with 90–95% of turbine mass now recoverable
• Wind power remains one of the most scalable and clean electricity sources — essential for global decarbonisation

⏭️ What's next: As legal battles escalate — including lawsuits aiming to halt offshore wind projects — clearer federal guidelines and public communication may be needed to counter disinformation
• In parallel, the EU is moving ahead with stricter recycling mandates, and innovations in blade materials and anti-collision systems are addressing remaining concerns
• The trajectory of wind energy policy in the US may hinge on upcoming electoral and judicial decisions

💬 One quote: “There is no scientific evidence that noise resulting from offshore wind site characterization surveys could potentially cause whale deaths,” — NOAA Fisheries

📈 One stat: Cats are responsible for an estimated 2.4 billion bird deaths per year in the US, while wind turbines cause about 234,000 — a fraction of the total

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