Trump admin pulls the plug on offshore wind power

Niv Bavarksy

It’s code red for US offshore wind energy, and it’s not because of breezeless weather: The Interior Department suspended wind farm leases in federal waters yesterday, citing national security concerns. The move pauses generation and construction at five wind project sites off the East Coast that could collectively power 2.5 million homes: It stopped the turbines at the partially operational Vineyard Wind 1, which was already sending power to the Massachusetts grid. Installations ceased at the under-construction wind farms Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, Revolution Wind near Rhode Island and Connecticut, and Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind off New York. Why wind down? The Trump administration said it needs time to try to mitigate unspecified national security risks posed by wind farms that are outlined in classified Pentagon reports. It also cited unclassified government findings that turbine blades can interfere with radars. The lease suspension is the administration’s latest move sucking energy from ocean turbines, which President Trump has long lambasted as not being cost-effective and for cluttering coastal views. It comes weeks after a federal judge ruled that a January executive order pausing wind farm permitting is illegal. There’s blowback The offshore wind industry, which invested billions to install the tech converting gales to gigawatts, says it coordinated with the Pentagon on project planning. The military’s concerns about them during the Biden administration led to lease changes. Critics say that halting offshore wind will cost jobs. The Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank, recently found that 12,000 jobs were in direct danger from wind farm suspensions. Others maintain that the wind wipeout would deprive the grid of power even as electricity gets pricier amid the AI data center construction boom. Stoppages add to industry headwinds: Turbine installers were already reeling from growing wages, elevated interest rates, and tariffs. Now, they’re due to bleed more cash: When the White House previously temporarily paused the Empire Wind project in April, it hemorrhaged $50 million a week, according to its Norway-based developer, Equinor. The stock of Vineyard Wind’s Danish developer, Ørsted, plummeted 11% yesterday, while shares of Dominion Energy, the company behind Coastal Virginia, closed down nearly 4%.—SK