The Trump administration further escalated its stance on Monday, ordering a suspension of all leases for large wind energy projects under construction in the United States, this time citing national security threats.
The Department of the Interior announced an immediate suspension of offshore wind leases “due to national security risks identified by the Department of the Army in a recently completed confidential report.”
“This moratorium allows time for the Department of Defense and other relevant government agencies to work with leaseholders and state partners to assess the potential to reduce the national security risks posed by these projects,” the agency said in a news release.
Some security experts called this justification false and nonsense, saying offshore wind is key to ensuring grid reliability and achieving the United States’ broader energy goals.
The order applies to five projects along the East Coast. Vineyard Wind off the coast of Massachusetts, Revolution Wind off the coast of Rhode Island, commercial offshore wind projects off the coast of Virginia, and Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind 1 off the coast of New York.
This is the latest in a series of federal actions against offshore wind, which has become a unique target in President Trump’s massive effort to block new renewable energy. The president has supported a national energy strategy based primarily on fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and coal.
In January, President Trump called for the temporary withdrawal of nearly all federal lands and waters from new or renewed wind energy leases, which he said “could result in significant harm,” including negative impacts to national security, transportation, and commercial interests. Last week, Mr. A called it “arbitrary and capricious.”
In August, the administration described offshore wind projects that included $427 million that had been earmarked for California as “doomed.” The state has installed floating offshore wind power by 2045, which experts and officials say will be a key part of the state’s clean energy portfolio to combat climate change.
The Interior Department now says offshore wind turbines and towers pose a threat to national security by causing radar interference called “clutter,” which “obscures legitimate moving targets and generates false targets in the vicinity of wind energy projects.”
“The United States government’s primary duty is to protect the American people,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement Monday. “Today’s actions address emerging national security risks, including the rapid evolution of associated adversarial technologies and the vulnerabilities created by large offshore wind projects near population centers on the East Coast. The Trump Administration will always prioritize the safety of the American people.”
But Kirk Lippold, a national security expert and former USS Cole naval commander, said invoking national security on this issue would be like “blowing smoke on the American people.” He said the clutter problem has been known for years and can be resolved through software and firmware changes in weapon systems and radars, and proper training for operators of those systems.
“The reference to national security in this case is a false and baseless argument, and once again shows that the administration is not really interested in building the energy-dominated portfolio that President Trump has been touting since his first day in office,” Lippold told the Times. “Being energy dominant means having a wide variety and depth of energy sources, from fossil fuels to nuclear power to wind and solar.”
Lippold noted that Bergum also cited national security threats in August, when the government ordered a stoppage of work on the 80% completed Revolution Wind Project. The Home Secretary said at the time that malicious actors could use radar distortion to “launch drone swarm attacks on wind farms”, which Lippold said was laughable. He added that a “swarm of drones” coming this close to U.S. shores would indicate a major failure of the intelligence community. Federal judge in September.
John Conger, director emeritus who oversaw energy lands during the Obama administration, said concerns about clutter also could have been addressed earlier in the planning process for individual projects.
For example, before approving an offshore wind project, regulators may require the relocation of certain turbines or require additional radar to fill gaps in coverage, Conger said. He said it was strange for the current administration to take issue with all five projects at once, since the projects suspended Monday would have been evaluated and approved by the Department of Defense beforehand.
“It’s strange that they decided on multiple changes at the same time, and it sounds like they weren’t evaluating them individually,” Conger said. “Even if new information comes out, it will be individual information.”
Dave Belote, another former director of the Department of Defense Energy Siting Agency, also questioned the administration’s claims in a statement Monday.
“I believe Secretary Burgum’s claims about risks and vulnerabilities related to national security are bogus,” said Belote, now CEO of solar energy consulting firm DARE Strategies. The North American Aerospace Defense Command says it is “currently implementing technical fixes to edit interference from radar displays, and wind energy project developers have been paying for these fixes since 2013.”
Experts said the administration’s move also has implications for energy affordability, grid reliability and the economy.
“Electricity prices are rising and our power grid faces increased demand from data centers, industry and homes,” said Ted Kelly, director and principal advisor for U.S. clean energy at the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund. “Wind power will provide the most affordable and reliable power if we are allowed to move forward.”
Energy affordability has been a major issue across the U.S. this year, with home electricity prices rising about 13% nationwide since January, according to the report. Wind and solar remain the cheapest forms of new-build power generation, the financial advisory firm says.
Hilary Bright, executive director of wind advocacy group Turn Forward, said the suspended projects are fully permitted and nearly complete, representing tens of billions of dollars in infrastructure investments that have employed thousands of workers to date. It is also poised to provide “much-needed power to regions already struggling to meet increasing demand for electricity.”
“Suspending a lawful permit, approved after years of rigorous consultation with federal specialized agencies, including the Department of the Army, does nothing to improve our nation’s long-term economic and energy security,” Bright said in a statement.
Although Vineyard Wind was only partially completed, it saved New England residents about $2 million a day during this month’s cold snap, according to a report.
