US EditionTrump administration halts five under-construction offshore wind projects, citing national security
The Interior Department halted five East Coast offshore wind projects citing radar interference risks that could obscure or create false military targets, affecting power for millions, officials said.
- On Monday, the Trump administration suspended federal leases for all large offshore wind projects under construction, pausing five Atlantic offshore wind projects including a massive Virginia offshore wind farm.
- In a news release, the U.S. Department of the Interior cited national security risks from recently completed classified reports attributed to the `Department of War`, highlighting turbine movement and light reflectivity as potential radar interference concerns.
- Several developers say the suspension imperils billions of dollars in investment and stalls nearly six gigawatts of new electricity, including a Virginia farm nearly 60% complete and delivering over two gigawatts—enough for around 660,000 homes.
- Trade groups argued companies worked with the Department of Defense for over a decade and a federal judge earlier this month vacated an executive order tied to the administration's re-evaluation, while clean-energy and fossil-fuel groups warned the move would kill jobs and raise electricity prices.
- Just last week, the regional grid operator reported record-high auction prices while mid-Atlantic states including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia face energy supply shortages and high electricity bills, though experts on turbine design say issues can be mitigated, as seen in Sweden last year.
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Trump suspends US offshore wind licences citing ‘national security’
The Trump administration suspended leases on Monday for five large-scale offshore wind projects that are under construction off the US east coast over what it called national security concerns, sending shares of offshore wind companies plunging.
The US government has stopped all major offshore wind projects off the coast of the United States for the time being.
Trump halts East Coast projects in latest blow to wind power
The Trump administration announced an immediate pause on the leases for five large-scale offshore wind farms off the East Coast. The Interior Department provided few details, but said the Pentagon believed the turbines could obscure and confuse radar signals. It's the latest move by the White House taking aim at wind power. Science correspondent Miles O’Brien has been tracking these projects.
The decision was made because the Department of Defense identified alleged "risks for national security"
Equinor Suspends Work on $3 Billion Offshore Wind Farm
Norway’s Equinor said it had suspended work on the offshore wind project Empire Wind 1 following a Monday stop-work order issued by the Trump administration. The order relates to a pause on the leases of five offshore wind power projects, declared by the Department of the Interior on national security grounds as identified by the Department of War. Because of these national security concerns, Interior “is PAUSING leases for 5 expensive, unreliab…
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