Business & Economics
U.S. Interior Halts Five East Coast Offshore Wind Leases for 'National Security' Review
On 22 Dec 2025 the Interior Department ordered an immediate construction pause on five nearly-finished Atlantic offshore wind farms—together ~6 GW—invoking classified radar-interference threats.
Focusing Facts
- Pause covers Vineyard Wind 1, Revolution Wind, Empire Wind 1, Sunrise Wind and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, totaling about 5.9 GW of capacity.
- Order came 12 days after Judge Patti Saris struck down Trump’s 20 Jan 2025 blanket wind-permit ban as “arbitrary and capricious.”
- Ørsted A/S shares fell roughly 12 % in Copenhagen trading after the suspension was announced.
Context
In 1948 President Truman shelved the St. Lawrence Seaway, citing submarine vulnerability; the project restarted in 1954 after design tweaks—a reminder that “national security” has long been a malleable veto on big infrastructure. Today’s freeze continues that tradition, reflecting a broader, century-long tug-of-war between federal administrations, courts and states over who steers America’s energy mix. Since coal’s 75 % share in 1950 gave way to oil, gas and now renewables, each transition has met partisan turbulence. Whether this pause permanently scares capital from the nascent U.S. offshore wind sector or merely delays first power, it underscores a systemic risk: when regulatory certainty hinges on electoral cycles, the multi-decade investments needed for decarbonization become wagers on political, not technological, durability—an instability future historians may judge as either a footnote or a decisive brake on the 21st-century energy pivot.
Perspectives
Local Northeast news outlets
e.g., The Martha's Vineyard Times, Westfair Communications — They frame the federal pause as an unlawful, economically damaging interruption to affordable clean energy and thousands of regional jobs. Because their communities benefit directly from the projects and local officials oppose the halt, they are inclined to downplay or dismiss the Pentagon’s radar-interference rationale.
Industry and business press
e.g., Engineering News-Record, Financial Post — They interpret the suspension as a politically driven setback that erodes investor confidence and imperils the fledgling U.S. offshore-wind supply chain. With readership and advertisers tied to energy and construction markets, coverage spotlights financial harm and may give only cursory treatment to any genuine security concerns. ( Engineering News-Record (ENR) magazine , Financial Post )
Trump administration and allied anti-wind voices quoted in coverage
e.g., statements carried by RocketNews, Daily Voice — They claim the lease freeze is necessary because large offshore turbines generate radar ‘clutter’ that could hide threats and demonstrate wind power’s cost and unreliability. A long-standing ideological hostility toward renewable energy and preference for fossil fuels create incentives to inflate or selectively cite security risks as a pretext for blocking the projects.