Trump Administration Pauses All Large-Scale Offshore Wind Projects Under Construction in U.S.

The Department of the Interior said Monday it is pausing leases for all large-scale offshore wind projects currently under construction in U.S. waters, citing “national security risks” identified in recently completed classified reports.

The move affects five major projects under development off the East Coast, including the 2.6-gigawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, the country’s largest offshore wind project, as well as the 800-megawatt Vineyard Wind 1, the 700-megawatt Revolution Wind, and New York’s Empire Wind and Sunrise Wind projects.

Interior officials said the pause will allow the agency, in coordination with the Defense Department and other federal partners, to work with leaseholders and states to evaluate whether the identified security risks can be mitigated.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the concerns stem from the rapid advancement of adversary technologies and the proximity of large offshore wind installations to major East Coast population centers. The department also cited radar interference caused by turbine blades and reflective towers, which it said can obscure real targets or generate false signals.

In a post on X, Burgum also raised economic concerns, stating that a single natural gas pipeline can supply as much energy as the five offshore wind projects combined, and described offshore wind as expensive, unreliable, and heavily subsidized. He said Donald Trump was putting national security first in U.S. energy policy.

In a response, Dominion Energy, the developer of Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, said the project is critical to meeting Virginia’s rapidly growing power demand and supporting key military installations, shipbuilding operations, and the region’s expanding data-center footprint.

The Coastal Virginia project is scheduled to come fully online in late 2026.

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