The Trump administration on Monday ordered a halt to five offshore wind projects currently being built in the United States, a major new attack on a power-generating industry even as voters fret about climbing electricity prices.
The Interior Department announced it is pausing all leases for large-scale offshore wind projects that are currently under construction, effective immediately. It lands as the Trump administration is facing political heat from skyrocketing energy costs in part from the growth of data centers and artificial intelligence. Residential retail electricity rates rose roughly 7 percent in September from a year prior, according to monthly tracking by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The pauses affect the Vineyard Wind 1, Revolution Wind, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind 1 projects stretching from Virginia to New England, initiatives that together would generate enough electricity to power almost 2.7 million homes.
Interior cited national security risks that were identified by the Department of Defense in “recently completed classified reports.” The department said the pause will give the administration time to work with leaseholders and states to assess the possibility of mitigating the risks.
“The Trump administration has paused the construction of all large-scale offshore wind projects because our number one priority is to put America First and protect the national security of the American people,” said Taylor Rogers, a White House spokesperson.
The move represents a new escalation for the Trump administration, which has repeatedly sought to halt the offshore wind sector that was a focus of the Biden administration. Trump has called wind turbines a “disgrace” and “a scam,” and has said his administration would not approve any projects.
Just weeks ago, people familiar with the administration’s thinking had told POLITICO that White House and Interior Department staff were discussing a compromise that would allow the five projects to finish construction. Such a plan would still have allowed the administration to revoke permits for other Biden-era projects whose construction has yet to begin. But Monday’s announcement seemed to put an end to that discussion.
Instead, the administration has said it will bring down energy costs by undoing Biden administration regulations and embracing baseload power sources such as fossil fuels and nuclear power.
The action Monday puts two projects in the crosshairs that had previously faced the administration’s opposition. The Empire Wind project off the coast of New York was already halted in April by the administration, as was the Revolution Wind project that was blocked in August.
Those pauses caused widespread angst among developers and offshore wind supporters. A separate judge this month also called the administration’s halt of permits for offshore wind projects illegal.
Both pauses were ultimately lifted — one after Trump claimed to strike a deal with New York and the other after a federal judge intervened. David Schoetz, a spokesperson for Empire Wind’s developer Equinor, said the company is evaluating the order and “seeking further information from the federal government.”
One of the projects halted Monday is already generating electricity. Half of the 62 turbines at Vineyard Wind off Massachusetts were producing power as of the end of September. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the stoppage would lead to a shut-down of the turbines already in operation.
Neither Interior nor Vineyard Wind, a joint venture of Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, immediately provided comment on the pause and impact to operational turbines.
ISO New England, the regional grid operator, has said it is counting on Vineyard Wind’s power this winter. It previously expressed concerns when Interior halted Revolution Wind in August, saying the stoppage raised reliability risks to New England.
Dominion Energy, which is developing the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, said in a statement that stopping the project “for any length of time” will threaten grid reliability for some of the nation’s most important war fighting, AI, and civilian assets.” The project — which is located about 23 miles from Virginia Beach — has the support of key Republican officials, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and Virginia Rep. Jen Kiggans.
“Virginia needs every electron we can get as our demand for electricity doubles,” the company said in a statement. “These electrons will power the data centers that will win the AI race, support our war fighters, and build the nuclear warships needed to maintain our maritime supremacy. Virginia’s grid needs addition of electrons, not subtraction.”
Dominion added that it stands “ready to do what is necessary to get these vital electrons flowing as quickly as possible.” The company has said the project is expected to deliver first power to the grid early next year.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum touted the administration’s action on Monday as aimed at protecting the American people.
“Today’s action addresses emerging national security risks, including the rapid evolution of the relevant adversary technologies, and the vulnerabilities created by large-scale offshore wind projects with proximity near our east coast population centers,” he said in a statement.
Burgum followed up in a post on X, calling wind expensive, unreliable, heavily subsidized. “@POTUS is bringing common sense back to energy policy & putting security FIRST!,” he wrote.
Democrats and offshore wind supporters say that the administration’s efforts to halt offshore wind will only further increase rising prices.
“At a time of soaring energy costs, this latest decision from DOI is a backwards step that will drive energy bills even higher,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said the pause threatened to leave workers jobless over the holidays while failing to address national security.
“We’re finally about to get over the finish line and the arbitrarily throughout that this is somehow affecting national security” Hochul told reporters during a press conference on Monday. “I have a real question about their definition of what national security is all about.”
Timothy Fox, the managing director of ClearView Energy Partners, said that offshore wind project developers are more likely to try to find resolution with the administration than cancel the projects, which are close to completion — but an open-ended pause creates “enormous cost risks.”
“Among the projects, we think the Administration is most likely to let Dominion’s CVOW project resume, as the facility would serve the power-hungry Virginia and PJM region,” he said in an email, referring to the regional grid operator.
Interior on Monday cited radar interference — which it called “clutter” — as a concern caused by offshore wind projects. The administration has previously pointed to national security concerns for wind projects, but proponents argue those concerns are overblown and ignore ways to mitigate radar interference.
The department pointed to a 2024 report on Monday that stated that radar’s threshold for false alarm detection can be increased to reduce some clutter, but it said “an increased detection threshold” could cause radar to miss targets.
Kirk Lippold, a military analyst who was serving as commander the USS Cole when it was attacked by al Qaeda suicide bombers in 2000, said that the permits for the offshore wind projects were awarded following years of review by state and federal agencies.
“Ironically, these projects will actually benefit our national security by diversifying America’s energy supplies, providing much-needed reliable power for the grid, and helping our economy,” Lippold said.
Offshore wind opponents on Capitol Hill, meanwhile, celebrated the news.
“National security cannot be sacrificed in pursuit of expensive, untested energy experiments that put both the Eastern Shore and the nation at risk,” Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) said in a post on X.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.), another offshore wind opponent, called the pause the “right move” on Monday. “National security always comes first,” he said in a social media post.
Katelyn Cordero contributed to this report.
