Offshore wind energy projects suspended by Trump administration in Atlantic waters: NPR

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration announced Monday that it is suspending leases for five large-scale offshore wind projects under construction along the East Coast due to what it considers national security risks identified by the Pentagon.

The pause, effective immediately, is the latest action the administration has taken to hinder offshore wind power in its fight against renewable energy sources. This comes two weeks after a federal judge struck down President Donald Trump’s executive order blocking wind energy projects, calling it illegal.

The administration said the pause would give the Interior Department, which oversees offshore wind energy, time to work with the Defense Department and other agencies to evaluate possible ways to mitigate security risks posed by the projects.

“The primary duty of the United States government is to protect the American people,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement. “Today’s action responds to emerging national security risks, including the rapid evolution of relevant adversary technologies, and vulnerabilities created by large-scale offshore wind projects near our East Coast population centers.”

The statement did not detail the risks to national security.

Wind energy supporters criticized the move, saying it was another blow by the administration against clean energy.

The administration said leases were suspended for the Vineyard Wind project under construction in Massachusetts, Revolution Wind in Rhode Island and Connecticut, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind and two projects in New York: Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind.

The Interior Department said unclassified U.S. government reports had long revealed that the movement of massive turbine blades and highly reflective towers created radar interference called “clutter.” Clutter caused by offshore wind projects obscures legitimate moving targets and generates false targets near wind projects, the Interior Ministry said.

National security expert and former USS Cole commander Kirk Lippold said the projects received permits “after years of review by state and federal agencies,” including the Coast Guard, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, the Air Force and more.

“The history of decisions shows that the Department of Defense was consulted at every stage of the permitting process,” he said, arguing that the projects would benefit national security because they would diversify the country’s energy supply.

The action comes two weeks after a federal judge struck down Trump’s executive order blocking wind energy projects, saying efforts to end virtually all wind farm leasing on federal lands and waters were “arbitrary and capricious” and violated U.S. law.

Judge Patti Saris of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts overturned Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order blocking wind energy projects and declared it illegal.

Saris ruled in favor of a coalition of attorneys general from 17 states and Washington, D.C., led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who challenged Trump’s first-day order that suspended leasing and permitting of wind energy projects.

Trump has been hostile to renewable energy, particularly offshore wind power, and prioritizes fossil fuels to generate electricity.

Wind energy supporters called the administration’s actions illegal and said offshore wind energy provides some of the most affordable and reliable electrical energy to the grid.

“For nearly a year, the Trump administration has recklessly obstructed the development of clean, affordable energy for millions of Americans, just as the nation’s need for electricity is growing,” said Ted Kelly of the Environmental Defense Fund.

“Now the administration is once again illegally blocking clean, affordable energy,” Kelly said. “We shouldn’t bring America’s largest source of renewable energy to its knees, especially when we need more cheap, locally produced electricity.”

The administration’s actions are particularly egregious because, at the same time, it supports aging and expensive coal plants “that are barely functioning and polluting our air,” Kelly said.

The Conservation Law Foundation, a Boston-based environmental group, called the pause “a desperate repeat of the Trump administration’s failed attempt to kill offshore wind energy,” noting that courts have already rejected the administration’s arguments.

“Trying to stop these projects again tramples the rule of law, threatens jobs and deliberately sabotages a critical industry that strengthens — not weakens — America’s energy security,” said Kate Sinding Daly, senior vice president for law and policy at the legal foundation.