WASHINGTON (AP) — On Monday, the Trump administration announced a halt to leases for five major offshore wind projects being developed along the East Coast, citing national security concerns highlighted by the Pentagon.

This immediate suspension marks the latest effort by the administration to curb the growth of offshore wind energy, aligning with its broader agenda against renewable energy initiatives. This development follows a recent ruling by a federal judge, who deemed Trump’s executive order obstructing wind energy projects as unlawful.

The administration stated that this pause will allow the Interior Department, responsible for overseeing offshore wind activities, to collaborate with the Defense Department and other agencies to evaluate and address potential security threats linked to these projects. However, the statement did not elaborate on the specific nature of these security concerns and described the action as a temporary pause without specifying when it might conclude.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum emphasized the government’s responsibility to protect its citizens, stating, “This action today addresses new national security challenges, including the swift advancement of adversary technologies and the vulnerabilities introduced by large offshore wind projects close to our East Coast urban centers.”

Advocates of wind energy criticized the decision, viewing it as a further assault on clean energy by the administration. While the cited national security concerns could complicate legal opposition, supporters of wind energy argue that such concerns are exaggerated.

Projects paused over national security concerns

The administration said leases are paused for the Vineyard Wind project under construction in Massachusetts, Revolution Wind in Rhode Island and Connecticut, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, and two projects in New York: Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind.

The Interior Department said 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 wind projects, the Interior Department said.

National security expert and former Commander of the USS Cole Kirk Lippold disputed the administration’s national security argument. The offshore projects were awarded permits “following years of review by state and federal agencies,” including the Coast Guard, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, the Air Force and more, he said.

“The record of decisions all show that the Department of Defense was consulted at every stage of the permitting process,” Lippold said, arguing that the projects would benefit national security because they would diversify the country’s energy supply.

A judge ruled blocking wind projects was unlawful

The administration’s action comes two weeks after a federal judge struck down Trump’s executive order blocking wind energy projects, saying the effort to halt virtually all leasing of wind farms on federal lands and waters was “arbitrary and capricious” and violates U.S. law.

Judge Patti Saris of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts vacated Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order blocking wind energy projects and declared it unlawful.

Saris ruled in favor of a coalition of state attorneys general from 17 states and Washington, D.C., led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, that challenged Trump’s Day One order that paused leasing and permitting for wind energy projects.

Trump has been hostile to renewable energy, particularly offshore wind, and prioritizes fossil fuels to produce electricity.

Wind proponents slam the move

Wind supporters called the administration’s actions illegal and said offshore wind provides some of the most affordable, reliable electric power to the grid.

“For nearly a year, the Trump administration has recklessly obstructed the build-out of clean, affordable power for millions of Americans, just as the country’s need for electricity is surging,” said Ted Kelly of the Environmental Defense Fund.

“Now the administration is again illegally blocking clean, affordable energy,” Kelly said. “We should not be kneecapping America’s largest source of renewable power, especially when we need more cheap, homegrown electricity.”

The administration’s actions are especially egregious because, at the same time, it is propping up aging, expensive coal plants “that barely work and pollute our air,” Kelly said.

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong called the lease suspension a “lawless and erratic stop-work order” that revives an earlier failed attempt to halt construction of Revolution Wind.

The wind project has been vetted and approved through every layer of federal and state regulatory process, including a careful review of security issues raised in the latest announcement, he said.

“Every day this project is stalled is another day of lost work, another day of unaffordable energy costs, and other day burning fossil fuels when American-made clean energy is within reach,” Tong said. “We are evaluating all legal options, and this will be stopped just like last time.”

Suspension is praised by anti-wind group

A New Jersey group that opposes offshore wind hailed the administration’s actions.

“Today, the president and his administration put America first,” said Robin Shaffer, president of Protect Our Coast New Jersey, a nonprofit advocacy group.

“Placing largely foreign-owned wind turbines along our coastlines was never acceptable,” he said, arguing that the projects posed serious national security risks.

But the Conservation Law Foundation, a Boston-based environmental group, called the pause “a desperate rerun of the Trump administration’s failed attempt to kill offshore wind,” noting that courts have already rejected the administration’s arguments.

“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,” said Kate Sinding Daly, senior vice president for law and policy at the law foundation.

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