Trump administration targets offshore wind farms citing national security concerns
The US Department of the Interior announced it would “pause” the leasing of five large offshore wind farms, threatening the rapidly growing clean energy industry.
Pilot project turbine for the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Program, expected to be completed in 2026.
Kendall Warner/The Virginian-Pilot/Tribune News Service/Getty Images
The Trump administration announced on Monday that “Stop-Effective ImmediatelyLeases for five large offshore wind farms being built on the East Coast. In the announcement, Interior Department Secretary Doug Burgum cited “emerging national security risks” for the decision, but the agency provided no evidence of what risks were found.
The five projects affected by the moratorium are offshore fields in New York state, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Virginia. about 5.8 gigawatts Offshore wind is expected to come online in the US between 2025 and 2029 – enough to power millions of homes along the Eastern Seaboard. Nearly $10 billion has been invested in the US wind industry since 2021. The Trump administration’s decision jeopardizes both that investment and future energy capacity.
A statement announcing the decision on Monday indicated that the wind turbines caused “clutter” in radar, referring to 2024 energy department report In which the effect of wind turbines on radar systems was looked at.
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That report warned that clutter from wind turbines in the line of sight of defense and civilian radar systems could cause interference and lead to false alarms. One strategy to mitigate this problem, the report says, is to lower the radar detection threshold – which reduces clutter but may result in missing “real targets”. Another option proposed in the report is to ensure that wind farms are not built in the line of sight of radar.
“We should not shut down America’s largest source of renewable energy, especially when we need more affordable, household electricity,” said Ted Kelly of US Clean Energy at the Environmental Defense Fund. a statement“Instead, this administration has baselessly and unlawfully attacked wind energy,” he said,
One of the affected projects, the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project, was established “in close coordination with the Army,” according to a spokesperson for Dominion Energy, which operates the wind farm. new York TimesIndeed, wind farm operators, scientists, and the military have collaborated to reduce the radar impact of wind farms for decadesBurgum told Fox Business on Monday that the decision to halt the projects was made because the Defense Department “has come back with the conclusion that ,,, these large offshore wind programs create radar interference,”
The Interior Department and Defense Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Editor’s note: This story is in development and may be updated.
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