Trump Administration Pauses Offshore Wind Project Leases Amid Security Concerns

Mon Dec 22 2025 19:51:40 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In a surprising move, the Trump administration has immediate halted leases for five significant offshore wind projects in the East Coast due to national security risks identified by the Pentagon, raising questions about the future of renewable energy initiatives.

The Trump administration announced a pause on leases for five large-scale offshore wind projects, including Vineyard Wind and Revolution Wind, citing national security risks. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum emphasized the need to assess these risks amid concerns over radar interference and the potential for obscuring legitimate military targets. This decision follows a recent court ruling that deemed previous attempts to block such projects unlawful.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration said Monday it is pausing leases for five large-scale offshore wind projects under construction in the East Coast due to unspecified national security risks identified by the Pentagon.

The pause is effective immediately and will give the Interior Department, which oversees offshore wind, time to work with the Defense Department and other agencies to assess the possible ways to mitigate any security risks posed by the projects, the administration said.

“The prime duty of the United States government is to protect the American people,” Interior Secretary Doug 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 administration stated that leases are paused for the Vineyard Wind project in Massachusetts, Revolution Wind in Rhode Island and Connecticut, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, and two projects in New York: Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind.

The Interior Department noted unclassified reports from the U.S. government have long indicated that the movement of massive turbine blades and the highly reflective towers create radar interference, referred to as “clutter.” This clutter can obscure legitimate moving targets and generate false targets in the vicinity of wind projects.

The action comes two weeks after a federal judge ruled against a previous executive order from Trump that aimed to block wind energy projects, deeming it arbitrary and capricious.

Judge Patti Saris of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts vacated Trump’s executive order and declared it unlawful. Saris ruled in favor of a coalition of state attorneys general challenging the Day One order that paused leasing and permitting for wind energy projects.

Trump has shown opposition to renewable energy initiatives, particularly offshore wind, favoring fossil fuels for electricity production.