THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT on Monday immediately paused the leases for large-scale offshore wind projects under construction off the US coast, citing concerns about radar interference and unspecified national security risks.
The Department of the Interior made the announcement, referencing “national security risks identified by the Department of War in recently completed classified reports.”
The announcement applies to the Vineyard Wind 1 project that has been moving ahead off the Nantucket coast and is currently delivering about 400 megawatts of energy to the New England electric grid.
The Trump administration said the pause will give agencies time “to work with leaseholders and state partners to assess the possibility of mitigating the national security risks posed by these projects.”
“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 Interior Department said following leases are paused:
- Vineyard Wind 1 (OCS-A 0501)
- Revolution Wind (OCS-A 0486)
- CVOW – Commercial (OCS-A 0483)
- Sunrise Wind (OCS-A 0487)
- Empire Wind 1 (OCS-A 0512)
The pause was announced in a press release that cited “risks inherent to large-scale offshore wind projects.”
“Unclassified reports from the US Government have long found that the movement of massive turbine blades and the highly reflective towers create radar interference called ‘clutter,’ ” the release said. “The clutter caused by offshore wind projects obscures legitimate moving targets and generates false targets in the vicinity of the wind projects,” the release said. “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 Conservation Law Foundation noted that a federal judge in the State of New York v. Trump last week issued a judgment invalidating the Trump administration’s moratorium on offshore wind permitting.
“This is a desperate rerun of the Trump administration’s failed attempt to kill offshore wind – an effort the courts have already rejected,” said Kate Sinding Daly, senior vice president for law and policy at CLF. “Many of these clean energy projects passed years of rigorous review, were upheld in court, and are moving forward. Trying again to halt these projects tramples on the rule of law, threatens jobs, and deliberately sabotages a critical industry that strengthens, not weakens, America’s energy security.”
The Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance said the wind projects “should be shelved in the best interest of ratepayers.”
“Gov. Maura Healey and her administration have championed offshore wind but that doesn’t change the fact that it is one of the most expensive forms of energy in America,” alliance director Paul Craney said. “Massachusetts and New England ratepayers desperately need inexpensive, clean, reliable, American natural gas to help drive down costs, not more expensive offshore wind energy and arbitrary climate mandates.”