The announcement was issued on 22nd December with immediate effect, citing national security risks identified by the Department of War in recently completed classified reports. The DOI says that the pause will give it, and the Department of War and other agencies, a chance to work with leaseholders and state partners to assess the possibility of mitigating the national security risks presented by the projects.
The DOI says that the “risks” presented by large offshore wind farms involve radar interference called “clutter”, which they say can obscure legitimate moving targets and generate false targets. This was apparently discussed in a 2024 report which stated that a radar’s threshold for false alarm detection can be increased to partly reduce clutter, but that an increased detection threshold could cause the radar to miss actual targets.
“The prime duty of the United States government is to protect the American people” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. “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. The Trump administration will always prioritize the security of the American people.”
Five projects in particular are already affected by the pause:
Vineyard Wind 1
Revolution Wind
CVOW – Commercial
Sunrise Wind
Empire Wind 1
Empire Wind, being constructed by Equinor off the coast of New York, is more than 60 percent complete, but the company said in a press release it is working with DOI. However, Danish company Orsted, which is constructing Revolution Wind, filed a suit against DOI yesterday (Thursday 1st January). Revolution Wind is 87 percent complete and is expected to be ready to generate power sometime this year.
Orsted said that it has worked with many agencies in a thorough review process, including the US Army Corps of Engineers, US Coast Guard and the National Marine Fisheries Service.
The American Clean Power Association (ACP) released a statement shortly after the DOI announcement.
“The Trump Administration’s decision to stop construction of five major energy projects demonstrates that they either don’t understand the affordability crises facing millions of Americans or simply don’t care” said ACP CEO Jason Grumet. “On the first day of this Administration, the President announced an energy emergency. Over the last year, they worked to create one with electricity prices rising faster under President Trump than any President in recent history. Now the Administration is taking more electricity off the grid while telling thousands of American workers to leave the job site. All the projects suspended today underwent rigorous national security reviews during the first Trump and Biden Administrations. Today’s decision creates needless uncertainty for any company that seeks to build an energy project in the United States. In America today, the greatest threat to a reliable energy system is an unreliable political system. The offshore wind industry creates thousands of high-quality, good-paying jobs, and is revitalizing American manufacturing supply chains and U.S. shipyards. It is a critical component of our energy security and provides stable, domestic power that helps meet demand and keep costs low. The President’s relentless attacks on offshore wind undermine his own economic agenda and needlessly harm American workers and consumers. Today’s action demonstrates the urgency for federal legislation to prevent Administrations from picking winners and losers and placing political ideology above the Nation’s interest.”
In September 2025, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said that “offshore wind has no future in the US under the Trump administration” claiming that offshore projects weren’t really about electricity but were about tax subsidies. He also claimed that the permitting process was “ideological”.
For additional information:
Department of the Interior (DOI)
