Trump Administration halts offshore wind projects over national security concerns
(CBS, KYMA) - The Trump administration said Monday it is suspending leases for five offshore U.S. wind farms because of national security risks identified by the Department of Defense in classified reports.
The Department of the Interior "is PAUSING leases for 5 expensive, unreliable, heavily subsidized offshore wind farms! ONE natural gas pipeline supplies as much energy as these 5 projects COMBINED," Interior Secretary Doug Burgum wrote in a social media post.
The Interior Department didn't disclose the specific security issues raised by the Defense Department, instead pointing to unclassified federal reports that have found wind projects can create risks because the movement of turbine blades, combined with their reflective towers, can create radar interference.
Called "clutter," this radar interference can make it difficult to identify legitimate moving targets, Interior noted.
The action comes two weeks after a federal judge struck down President Donald Trump's executive order blocking wind energy projects, saying the effort to halt virtually all leasing of wind farms on federal lands and waters was "arbitrary and capricious" and violates U.S. law.
