US President Donald Trump has announced the suspension of all large offshore wind projects currently under construction, citing unspecified national security concerns.
The move marks a significant escalation in President Trump’s long-standing opposition to offshore wind energy, a sector he has repeatedly criticised. Trump has argued that wind energy is unreliable and drives up costs, and he attempted to halt all such projects upon returning to office.
The suspension could affect billions of dollars in investment and stall nearly six gigawatts of new electricity capacity expected to come online over the next few years.
In a statement released on Monday, the US Department of the Interior said it was pausing five large-scale offshore wind projects to examine how wind turbines could interfere with radar systems and pose other potential risks to cities along the East Coast.
The sweeping order affects five projects under construction in the Atlantic Ocean, including a major offshore wind farm off the coast of Virginia, which is expected to become the largest such project in the country. Scheduled for completion by the end of 2026, the facility was intended to supply electricity to Virginia, a state that hosts the world’s largest concentration of energy-intensive data centres and is grappling with rising power demand and costs. Other affected wind farms are located off the coast of New England.
The specific national security risks cited remain unclear. In a news release, the Interior Department referenced “national security risks identified by the Department of Defense in recently completed classified reports,” without providing further details.
The statement also noted concerns that turbine movement and light reflectivity could interfere with radar operations.
According to a report by CNN, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the Department of Defense had “conclusively” determined that large offshore wind farms have caused radar interference, posing “a genuine risk to the United States,” particularly to East Coast population centres.
A Department of Defense official said the agency is working with the Interior Department and other federal bodies to assess whether the identified national security risks can be mitigated, but declined to provide additional details.
Meanwhile, Virginia Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, who serve on the Senate Intelligence and Armed Services committees respectively, said the administration had “failed to share any new information” to justify the sudden suspension.
“That silence speaks volumes, especially given the president’s long-standing, well-documented opposition to offshore wind,” the senators said in a joint statement issued alongside Representative Bobby Scott, also a Virginia Democrat.
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