The Defense Department has stalled development of around 160 wind projects across the United States, failing to complete standard national security reviews, an industry trade group said Monday.
Jason Grumet, CEO of the American Clean Power Association, said the processing of the reviews ground to a halt in recent months.
“It appears that they’re just kind of shutting down the office that does these evaluations,” said Grumet. “It is obstructing projects on private land with no nexus to the rest of the federal permitting process, and that’s something that nobody had ever contemplated a conservative government would do.”
The White House referred questions to the Department of Defense, where an official said in a statement that the clearinghouse is “actively evaluating land-based wind energy projects to ensure they do not impair national security or military operations.” The process is “inherently complex and time-consuming,” the official said.
