US Department of the Interior Pauses Five Large-Scale Offshore Wind Projects Over Security Concerns
The US Department of the Interior has paused five large-scale offshore wind leases currently under construction along the Atlantic coast to review national security concerns. The affected projects are located off the coasts of New York, Virginia, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
The Interior Department stated that the pause is to address security risks, including evolving adversary technologies and vulnerabilities arising from large offshore wind farms near densely populated East Coast areas. One key concern is radar interference or 'clutter' that could obscure moving targets or generate false alarms. Adjusting radar thresholds to reduce false alarms increases the risk of missing real threats.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has publicly expressed doubts about the future of wind farms in the US energy grid, citing these security concerns during remarks to Fox Business.
Dominion Energy, which is developing the Virginia wind project, highlighted that its turbines are located far offshore and have operated for five years without any national security impacts. The company noted that its shares fell by more than 3% following the announcement of the pause. Similarly, Danish company Orsted’s stock dropped about 12%, and turbine maker Vestas fell about 2.6% in response to the pause.
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont criticized the decision, calling the pause erratic and warning that it will increase electricity prices and reduce economic predictability while the project nears completion.
In context, in December a federal judge overturned the Trump administration’s attempt to ban new wind power projects. Earlier in Trump’s term, permits and leases for offshore wind projects were halted, and 17 states filed lawsuits over the ban.
