Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. directed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staff to probe the potential harms of offshore wind farms, according to people familiar with the matter, as President Donald Trump marshals his administration to thwart the clean energy source he loathes.

In late summer, HHS instructed CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to prepare research about wind farms’ impact on fishing businesses, according to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe private conversations. Kennedy has personally met with NIOSH Director John Howard about the issue and listed particular experts for Howard’s team to contact. The office of the U.S. surgeon general has also been involved in the initiative, which HHS leadership — prior to the ongoing government shutdown — had aimed to have completed within a couple months.

Among the offshore wind health impacts that HHS staff have investigated is the electric magnetic frequency generated from undersea cables used to connect power from the machines to the electric grid, one of the people said. Wind proponents say they aren’t harmful. HHS spokespeople didn’t respond to inquiries.

The push reflects how Kennedy has swiftly reordered the CDC’s priorities, and underscores the Trump administration’s antipathy towards the renewable energy source. Trump has ordered a broad government review of offshore wind farms and enlisted agencies including Environmental Protection Agency and the departments of Energy, Defense and Commerce to be part of a “inter-departmental coalition team,” Kennedy said in August.

“We’re all working together on this issue,” Kennedy said during the cabinet meeting, where he expressed concern about wind’s impact on whale and fish populations.

Trump, who fought against a wind project within view of his golf course in Aberdeen, Scotland, has long shown contempt for wind power, claiming without evidence that the farms cause cancer, and dismissing them as overly expensive eye-sores. His efforts against them have included rescinding permits and halting construction for wind projects worth billions of dollars. This includes the Revolution Wind farm being constructed off the coast of Rhode Island by Orsted A/S, which was already 80% complete when it received a stop work order in August that cited national security concerns.

In court filings, Revolution Wind alleged the Trump administration’s stop work order was an “arbitrary and capricious” move that was “preventing much-needed new power from coming online.” The government has denied wrongdoing. Last month a federal judge allowed the project to resume work.

In April, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum froze Equinor ASA’s $5 billion Empire Wind farm off the coast of Long Island, later lifting the order after striking a deal with New York Governor Kathy Hochul to allow a new natural gas pipeline. Other offshore wind projects in development are now under review, threatening to disrupt plans for major initiatives along the East Coast, including a $6 billion wind farm planned for the coast of Maryland that the Trump administration has asked a federal court to cancel.

Kennedy, who had an earlier career as a prominent environmental lawyer, is also a longtime critic of wind and before entering government fought a yearslong battle against a project off the coast of Massachusetts not far from his family’s compound. During last year’s presidential campaign, Kennedy called offshore wind “a catastrophe.”

Commercial fishing businesses are among the groups that have sued to challenge permits issued by the Biden Administration for wind farms planned along the U.S. eastern seaboard. They have said the massive offshore turbines threaten marine life and disrupt traditional fishing habitats.

NIOSH, the workplace health research agency, has been in upheaval since the spring, when Kennedy began attempting to terminate most of its scientists. Operating on a budget of around $360 million, NIOSH for years has funded or conducted most of the U.S.’ workplace health and safety research.

Much of its staff is currently on administrative leave as federal courts consider whether to let HHS follow through with efforts to fire them. This has upended projects including research on electric vehicle fires, an update to the recommended exposure limit for lead, monitoring of mine cave-in hazards, a study of the impact on fetal health of “forever chemicals,” and a report about how to protect millions of workers from wildfire smoke.

The CDC has been thrown into chaos since the start of Kennedy’s tenure. About a quarter of CDC employees have been terminated or resigned this year, according to the agency’s union — including in divisions that study chronic disease, Kennedy’s central issue.

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(With assistance from Mark Chediak and Jessica Nix.)

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