Trump Administration halts all large-scale offshore wind projects

US offshore wind farm [credit: canarymedia.com]

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An official US government statement has put the brakes on several major wind projects, pending a security review of radar effects and possibly other issues. This could mean extra expense and/or other unwelcome news for such projects. Developer share prices have taken a hit.
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WASHINGTON – The Department of the Interior announced today that it is pausing—effective immediately—the leases for all large-scale offshore wind projects under construction in the United States due to national security risks identified by the Department of War in recently completed classified reports.

This pause will give the Department, along with the Department of War and other relevant government agencies, time to work with leaseholders and state partners to assess the possibility of mitigating the national security risks posed by these projects, reports CFACT.

“The prime duty of the United States government is to protect the American people,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. “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 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)

As for the national security risks inherent to large-scale offshore wind projects, 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.”

Full report here.
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Image: US offshore wind farm [credit: canarymedia.com]