Interior Department pauses leases for offshore wind farms

Dec. 22 (UPI) — The Interior Department announced Monday it would pause the leases of five offshore wind farms being built on the East Coast.

The five projects are: Vineyard Wind 1, Revolution Wind, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind. The projects are near New England, Virginia and New York.

Vineyard Wind 1 off Massachusetts is already partially running, with about half of its 62 turbines operating.

The projects were expected to deliver power to more than 2.5 million homes and businesses.

Two wind farms that are operating were left alone. They include a small wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island that’s been finished since 2016 and another off of New York that’s been operating since 2023.

“Due to national security concerns identified by @DeptofWar, @Interior is PAUSING leases for 5 expensive, unreliable, heavily subsidized offshore wind farms! ONE natural gas pipeline supplies as much energy as these 5 projects COMBINED. @POTUS is bringing common sense back to energy policy & putting security FIRST!” Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum posted on X.

The department explained in a press release that “unclassified reports from the U.S. government have long found that the movement of massive turbine blades and the highly reflective towers create radar interference called ‘clutter.’ The clutter caused by offshore wind projects obscures legitimate moving targets and generates false targets in the vicinity of the wind projects.

“The Department of Energy in a 2024 report stated that a radar’s threshold for false alarm detection can be increased to reduce some clutter, but an increased detection threshold could cause the radar to ‘miss actual targets.'”

“The prime duty of the United States government is to protect the American people,” Burgum said in a statement. “Today’s action addresses emerging national security risks, including the rapid evolution of the relevant adversary technologies, and the vulnerabilities created by large-scale offshore wind projects with proximity near our east coast population centers. The Trump administration will always prioritize the security of the American people.”

The National Ocean Industries Association, a trade group representing offshore oil and offshore wind, touted the benefits of offshore wind.

“Offshore wind improves our national security by shifting economic, infrastructure, and geopolitical advantages to the U.S. through increased shipbuilding, enhancements to our ports, greater energy security to power surging electricity demand, more manufacturing and good-paying jobs, additional business for the oil and gas supply chain, and collaborative opportunities for our military,” NOIA President Erik Milito said in a statement. “In short, offshore wind helps the U.S. achieve its energy dominance goals.”

Jeremy Slayton, a spokesperson for Dominion Energy, told The New York Times that the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project is “essential for American national security and meeting Virginia’s dramatically growing energy needs.”

Slayton said the wind farm was created “in close coordination with the military.” He also said the project’s two pilot turbines have been operating for five years without national security issues.

“We stand ready to do what is necessary to get these vital electrons flowing as quickly as possible,” Slayton added.

Retired Army General James Marks, former commanding general of the U.S. Army Intelligence Center, said in a speech delivered in March, that offshore wind helps the United States compete with China.

He said China operates 129 offshore wind farms, while the United States has four.

“By dwarfing our domestic energy projects, China is well-positioned to withstand global supply shocks and power its military growth and modernization — which will only grow unless our country makes the necessary investments,” Marks said.

When construction on Empire Wind was paused in April, parent company Equinor said it was losing $50 million per week. It was able to continue construction in May.

In August, the Department of Transportation canceled federal funding for some wind farm projects, calling them “wasteful.”

On Dec. 9, a federal judge in Massachusetts overturned Trump’s decision to halt all new permits for wind energy projects. She called the ban “arbitrary and capricious and contrary to law” and said there wasn’t a good explanation for it.

“Trump’s obsession with killing offshore wind projects is unhinged, irrational and unjustified,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement. He said New York will “keep fighting” for the projects.