The Trump administration announced Monday it is pausing leases for five major offshore wind projects along the East Coast, citing national security risks identified by the Department of Defense.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the decision follows classified Pentagon assessments and long-standing concerns outlined in unclassified government reports. “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,” Burgum said in a statement, emphasizing the administration’s broader energy stance: “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!”
The Interior Department said unclassified analyses have found that the movement of large turbine blades and their reflective towers can interfere with radar systems, a phenomenon known as “clutter,” which can obscure real targets and create false signals. A 2024 Department of Energy report noted that adjusting radar thresholds to manage clutter could also cause systems to miss actual threats.
The pause affects Vineyard Wind 1, Revolution Wind, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, Sunrise Wind, and Empire Wind, with projects located off the coasts of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Virginia and New York. Two smaller offshore wind facilities — one off Rhode Island operating since 2016 and another off New York that came online in 2023 — are not impacted.
Several of the paused projects are already partially built or nearing completion. Vineyard Wind 1, located about 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, has roughly half of its 62 turbines operating and is expected to eventually power more than 400,000 Massachusetts homes and businesses. Revolution Wind off Rhode Island is about 80% complete. Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, the largest in the U.S. with 176 turbines, was slated to be operational by the end of 2026. Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind, both off Long Island, are also under construction.
The decision comes weeks after Judge Patti Saris of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts struck down President Trump’s earlier executive order on Jan. 20th that broadly blocked new wind energy leasing, calling it unlawful. That ruling followed a lawsuit brought by a coalition of attorneys general from 17 states and Washington, D.C.
However, the pause drew swift criticism from state leaders and environmental groups. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont called the move “yet another erratic, anti-business move by the Trump administration that will drive up the price of electricity in Connecticut and throughout the region. This project is nearing completion and providing good-paying clean energy jobs.”
The Sierra Club’s legislative director Melinda Pierce also condemned the action: “The Trump administration’s vengeance towards renewable energy knows no end. Americans need cheaper and more reliable energy that does not come at the expense of our health and futures.” Dominion Energy spokesperson Jeremy Slayton said Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind was developed “in close coordination with the military” and noted its pilot turbines have operated for five years without security issues.
According to the Department of Energy, wind energy currently provides about 10% of U.S. electricity and remains the nation’s largest source of renewable power.
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