US President Donald Trump is among the loudest voices spouting disinformation against wind power. When he took office in January, he ordered a freezeon leasing federal areas for new offshore wind projects and issuing federal permits for projects.
Then, in May, the Trump administration allowed work on a major New York offshore wind project to resume. This week,fishing companies and wind energy opponents filed a lawsuitto reinstate the stop work order.
Wind poweris the largest renewable energy source in the US and currently makes up about 10% of total electricity. Countries like Germany had a share of 28%, with wind power making up the lion share of Denmark's energy mix (58%). In 2024, wind and solar combined generated more electricity in the US than coal for the first time, think tank Ember reported.
False claims about wind energy are amplified on social media. DW's Fact check team takes the wind out of the sail of disinformation by checking some of the most viral claims.
Claim: Trump has repeatedly alleged that "windmills are driving the whales crazy, obviously." This post sharing a video of Trump has been viewed over 6 million times on X. "You see what's happening up in the Massachusetts's area with the whales." He has referred to different whale strandings, time and again,pushing the narrative that windmills are dangerous to the mammals.
DW Fact check: False
While there have been incidentswhere whales have been washed ashore, the National Marine Fisheries Service,a...
The Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Rural Crimes Investigative Unit (RCIU) and the Livestock and Farm Protection Task Force are aware of the false statement made last week regarding New World Scre...