TOKYO (Reuters) -JERA Nex BP, a joint venture between Japan’s top power generator JERA and BP, plans to halt development of the U.S. Beacon offshore wind power project and lay off its U.S. employees in the coming months, the venture said in a statement.
The decision marks the latest setback for the U.S. offshore wind industry, which has been hit by soaring costs from supply chain disruption, inflation and the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s opposition to such projects.
JERA Nex BP said it did not see a viable path to develop the Beacon project in the current environment and that it would close its operating activities in the United States.
The potential generating capacity of the project was 2.6 gigawatts, enough to power over 1 million homes in the northeastern United States.
The company will retain the Beacon lease rights off the coast of Massachusetts and wait for a more favourable time to resume development, it added.
BP and JERA agreed in December to form one of the world’s largest offshore wind operators. Its creation reflected BP’s retreat from offshore wind to spend more on higher-return oil and gas operations.
The joint venture, headquartered in London, was formally established in August and pooled a mix of operating assets and development projects in the United States, Belgium, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, Britain, Ireland and Australia. When it formed, its net potential generating capacity was 13 GW.
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi. Additional reporting by Stephanie Kelly. Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus and Mark Potter)
