On December 22, 2025, the Trump administration delivered a jolt to the burgeoning U.S. offshore wind industry, announcing the immediate suspension of leases for five major wind projects along the East Coast. The move, driven by national security concerns over potential radar interference, has set off a fierce debate among energy companies, state officials, and environmental advocates, all while raising questions about the future of clean energy in America.
The projects affected by the pause include some of the nation’s largest and most advanced offshore wind farms: Dominion Energy’s $10.9 billion Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project off Virginia Beach, Revolution Wind off Rhode Island and Connecticut, Vineyard Wind 1 off Massachusetts, and Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind off New York. Collectively, these projects represent billions in private investment and the promise of powering hundreds of thousands of homes with renewable energy.
According to Reuters, the Department of the Interior’s decision came after the Pentagon raised red flags about how the massive turbine blades and highly reflective towers could create what’s known as radar “clutter.” This clutter, officials say, can obscure legitimate moving targets or generate false ones, complicating efforts to monitor U.S. airspace. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum stated, “The prime duty of the United States government is to protect the American people.” He added that the 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 centres.”
For Dominion Energy, the timing couldn’t be worse. The company’s CVOW project is already well underway, expected to be operational by late 2026 with a capacity of 2.6 gigawatts—enough to power about 660,000 homes. Dominion emphasized the project’s critical role in meeting Virginia’s soaring energy demands, which are being driven by military installations, the world’s largest warship manufacturer, a massive concentration of data centers, and the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure. “Stopping CVOW for any length of time will threaten grid reliability for some of the nation’s most important war fighting, AI and civilian assets. It will also lead to energy inflation and threaten thousands of jobs,” Dominion said in a statement quoted by Virginia Business.
Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger, set to take office in January 2026, echoed these concerns. She warned, “Halting this project not only risks higher rates for consumers, but leaves Virginia vulnerable to grid disruptions and national security risks. As the next governor of Virginia, my top priority is lowering costs for Virginia families—including reducing Virginians’ utility bills. Going forward, I am prepared to work with Virginia industry, as well as elected leaders on both sides of the aisle, to make sure this project is completed.” Outgoing Governor Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, has also supported the project, highlighting its rare bipartisan backing in a politically divided state.
Not everyone agrees with the administration’s assessment. Virginia’s Democratic U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, along with Representative Bobby Scott, criticized the White House’s decision, questioning the lack of new evidence and suggesting political motives might be at play. In a joint statement, they said, “Despite our senior roles on the Senate Intelligence and Armed Services committees, the administration has failed to share any new information that supports this sudden and sweeping move to halt all offshore wind development, including a project off the coast of Virginia that is almost complete and operational. That silence speaks volumes, especially given the president’s longstanding, well-documented opposition to offshore wind—and the promises he’s made to his donors to put his thumb on the scale against certain energy projects.”
National security experts have also weighed in. Kirk Lippold, former Commander of the USS Cole, noted to NPR that these projects were approved only after years of review by multiple federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, Coast Guard, and Air Force. “The record of decisions all show that the Department of Defense was consulted at every stage of the permitting process,” he said, arguing that the projects actually benefit national security by diversifying America’s energy supply.
Industry reaction was swift and negative. Shares in Danish energy firm Orsted, which owns two of the affected projects, plunged over 11% on the day of the announcement, while turbine maker Vestas saw its stock fall by 2.6%. Dominion’s own stock dropped more than 3%, according to BBC News. Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont called the pause an “erratic” move that “will drive up the price of electricity in Connecticut and throughout the region.” He added, “This project is nearing completion and providing good-paying clean energy jobs. Businesses and residents deserve economic predictability, yet with the administration’s constant starts and stops they’re left with the opposite.”
The legal backdrop to the suspension is equally tangled. Earlier in December, a federal judge struck down President Trump’s earlier attempt to ban new wind power projects, labeling it “arbitrary and capricious and contrary to law.” On his first day in office, Trump had issued a memorandum halting permits and new leases for offshore wind, pending a federal review. Seventeen states, led by New York, sued the administration, calling the ban an “existential” threat to the U.S. wind industry—a sentiment echoed by environmental groups and renewable energy advocates.
Supporters of offshore wind argue that the administration’s actions are not only unlawful but also undermine America’s ability to meet its growing energy needs affordably and sustainably. Ted Kelly of the Environmental Defense Fund told NPR, “For nearly a year, the Trump administration has recklessly obstructed the build-out of clean, affordable power for millions of Americans, just as the country’s need for electricity is surging. Now the administration is again illegally blocking clean, affordable energy. We should not be kneecapping America’s largest source of renewable power, especially when we need more cheap, homegrown electricity.”
The stakes are especially high as demand for electricity in the U.S. is expected to surge, fueled by the explosive growth of artificial intelligence and data-driven industries. Dominion Energy and others warn that pausing these projects could leave the grid vulnerable, slow economic growth, and drive up consumer costs. Meanwhile, Interior Secretary Burgum has doubled down on the administration’s position, telling Fox Business that wind farms have no future in the U.S. energy grid, and linking the radar concerns to broader security threats such as drone strikes in global conflicts.
For now, the 90-day suspension gives federal agencies time to work with leaseholders and state partners to assess whether the national security risks can be mitigated. The Department of the Interior has signaled that it will consider technical fixes, such as adjusting radar thresholds, but experts caution that these solutions could themselves introduce new vulnerabilities.
As the dust settles, it’s clear that the fight over offshore wind represents more than just a clash of energy policy preferences. It’s a test of how the U.S. will balance national security, economic opportunity, and the urgent need to transition to cleaner power sources. With billions of dollars, thousands of jobs, and the nation’s energy future at stake, the outcome of this high-stakes standoff will be watched closely by all sides.
While the next steps remain uncertain, what’s clear is that America’s energy landscape—and the debate over its direction—has rarely been more charged.
