Washington, 23 December (H.S.): The US Department of the Interior ordered an immediate suspension of leases for five major offshore wind projects under construction along the Atlantic seaboard on Monday, citing national security risks from radar interference that could obscure genuine threats or spawn phantom targets near densely populated eastern cities.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum framed the pause as a safeguard against emerging vulnerabilities tied to adversarial drone advancements, drawing parallels to strikes in Ukraine-Russia and Iran-Israel conflicts during a Fox Business interview.
The directive impacts Vineyard Wind 1 off Massachusetts (OCS-A 0501), Revolution Wind off Rhode Island (OCS-A 0486), Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW-Commercial, OCS-A 0483), Sunrise Wind off New York (OCS-A 0487), and Empire Wind 1 off New York (OCS-A 0512), halting all activity pending interagency reviews with the Pentagon.
Officials highlighted turbine blade motion and reflective towers generating clutter that masks real aerial targets or fabricates false ones, with mitigation via heightened false-alarm thresholds risking overlooked genuine incursions.
Pentagon assessments, including classified reports, deemed these risks acute for projects proximate to population centers, overriding prior Energy Department findings of manageability.
Dominion Energy, developer of the Virginia project featuring two operational pilot turbines since five years ago, insisted the far-offshore site poses no security or visual issues, warning the halt endangers grid reliability for military bases and AI data centers.
Ørsted shares plunged over 12% on the announcement, with Dominion dropping nearly 6% and Vestas falling 2.6-6%, reflecting investor dismay amid the Trump administration's renewables skepticism.
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont decried the erratic order as inflationary for regional electricity, jeopardizing near-complete projects and clean-energy jobs after years of state investment.
This escalation follows a federal judge's early December ruling by Massachusetts District Judge Patti Saris striking down Trump's January 20 executive memorandum banning new wind leases as arbitrary and capricious, in a suit by 17 states led by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Trump, who deems wind unreliable and costly, swiftly reimposed barriers upon inauguration, including rescinding permits and $679 million in funding despite surging US energy demand from AI expansion. Burgum echoed that wind holds no future in the grid, prioritizing fossil fuels as Trump Media announced a fusion merger last week.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
