JERA Nex BP Suspends US Beacon Offshore Wind Project

JERA Nex BP, a joint venture between Japan’s largest power producer JERA and energy major BP, announced plans to halt development of the Beacon offshore wind project in the United States and close its American operations. The decision will result in layoffs of the company’s US-based employees in the coming months. The 2.5GW project has fallen to the changed circumstances in the US market.

The venture said it no longer sees a viable path to proceed with the Beacon project under current market and policy conditions. The announcement marks another significant setback for the US offshore wind industry, which has struggled with cost inflation, supply chain disruptions, and policy uncertainty under President Donald Trump’s administration.

Scale and Significance of the Beacon Project

The Beacon offshore wind project, located off the coast of Massachusetts, was designed to have a potential capacity of 2.5 gigawatts, enough to power more than one million homes across the northeastern United States. 

Despite the current suspension, JERA Nex BP stated that it will retain the Beacon lease rights. The company intends to reassess the project’s development prospects when the economic and regulatory environment becomes more favourable.

Formation and Global Scope of JERA Nex BP

JERA and BP formalised their joint venture in December, creating one of the world’s largest offshore wind developers. The partnership, headquartered in London, was established in August 2025 and combined a substantial portfolio of operating and development-stage assets.

At its inception, JERA Nex BP’s global projects spanned eight markets - the United States, Belgium, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, Britain, Ireland, and Australia - representing a collective potential capacity of 13 GW. 

Future Prospects

While JERA Nex BP’s withdrawal from active US operations signals a retreat in the short term, the company’s decision to keep the Beacon lease indicates room for re-entry once financial and policy conditions improve. Or quite simply, when Trump exits in 2028.

The pause at Beacon highlights the fragile balance between clean energy ambitions and the economic realities of large-scale offshore wind deployment in a shifting policy environment. This follows the Trump administration’s recent vocal opposition to against energy transition sector, especially the offshore wind segment. 

While the White House had already suspended all wind leasing processes on the OCS on day one of the administration, the administration has also rescinded all federally designated Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in July 2025. The decision led to uncertainty over major offshore wind investments, particularly along the California coast.