Amid the flurry of executive orders signed by President Trump.

This week was a directive largely written by New Jersey GOP Congressman Jeff Van Drew, pausing offshore, wind leasing and permitting in all federal waters and land.

The White House says it wants to do its own assessment on the environmental impact of wind projects on wildlife and on the economic cost of the growing industry.

New Jersey has already got one project ready for shovels to go in the ground.

And as Ted Goldberg reports, the new order means the future of wind energy is now unclear.

President Trump's executive order on offshore wind is still being analyzed.

The city is going to pause, as I understood it, giving out any new leases, and then they're going to study the leases they've given out.

I'm not sure what that means yet.

So we're going to have to dig in.

Governor Phil Murphy has repeatedly said that offshore wind is a big part of the state's goal to have 100% renewable energy a decade from now.

He hasn't ruled out suing over the executive order, which would stop new leases and review permits for current ones as of now.

One New Jersey project, Atlantic Shores, is fully permitted and least ready for construction.

Are we prepared to use our legal muscle?

Yes, absolutely.

But it will depend on the situation at hand.

People who oppose offshore wind are declaring victory.

Congressman Jeff Van Drew has attacked offshore wind for years and said his office worked closely with Trump's team on crafting language for the executive order, much of which is reflected in the final version.

For those of us who care about protecting our oceans and wildlife and for hard working Americans already struggling with rising energy costs, this is a significant victory.

Unsurprisingly, advocates for offshore wind don't see it that way.

It's going to increase our energy prices.

It's going to pollute our air.

It's going to give away thousands of good, high paying jobs.

The incongruence with the Trump administration and in one hand suggesting the importance of energy dominance and a strong economy, and then on the other hand curtailing American made power.

The executive order pauses, permits for an assessment that would consider the environmental impact of onshore and offshore wind projects upon wildlife, including birds and marine mammals.

The assessment shall also consider the economic costs associated with the intermittent generation of electricity and the effect of subsidies on the viability of the wind industry.

That assessment would be led by the Secretary of the Interior, who was asked about renewables during his confirmation hearing.

Would you agree that renewable resource, solar and wind, for example, can be developed if they are adequately if they can be integrated into the grid in a safe and reliable way?

Yes, they can.

Former North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum is Trump's nominee for that position.

And while he didn't rule out wind energy as a possible city going forward, he said wind has its limits.

They're intermittent.

And when they're intermittent, until we have storage solutions and we're years away from having significant enough cost effective storage to support that, we need to have the baseload or the intermittent doesn't even have a life, but it can be integrated.

In your case, in North Dakota, 35% of your electricity comes from from wind power.

I presume in your bay, your grid works well.

It it's super stressed.

Wind energy in North Dakota grew nearly three fold while Burgum was governor.

But he's also echoed Trump's feelings about using more fossil fuels.

Advocates for offshore wind are split on how Burgum will handle offshore wind.

If someone doesn't stay in line with him, they're out the very next day.

I'm not sure how much individual freedom members of his cabinet are going to have, how much leash they're going to be given in the administration.

I think it's been clear that the the president has made it a priority to line the pockets of oil and gas CEOs.

We are very optimistic.

We know that the administration perhaps needs additional studies and information and education.

And I think the industry stands at the ready to provide whatever information the administration needs to make these decisions.

Another Trump executive order lifts a ban on oil drilling in the Atlantic Ocean.

Congressman Frank Pallone doesn't think there's a remote chance of that happening.

Saying he can sign whatever he'd like.

But President Trump cannot unilaterally change laws.

It would take an act of Congress to allow offshore drilling off the East Coast.

Period.

Good luck with that.

Some of Trump's executive orders have been struck down by courts before, so expect the long legal battle if Murphy decides to challenge this.

For NJ Spotlight News, I'm Ted Goldberg.