Four U.S. state governors have called on the Interior Department to immediately lift stop-work orders imposed on five offshore wind projects, arguing the suspensions were issued without clear justification and threaten regional energy security.
In a joint letter sent to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, the governors of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island said the projects were halted last week on the basis of unspecified “national security concerns,” despite having already undergone extensive federal reviews and approvals.
The governors said no federal agency, including the Department of Defense, had informed the states of any new security risks prior to the issuance of the stop-work orders.
They called for a classified briefing to explain the rationale behind the decision, including details of any alleged threats and why such concerns were not raised earlier in the permitting process.
“Blocking gigawatts of expected capacity risks grid reliability, higher energy costs, and weakened U.S. competitiveness,” the governors wrote, adding that offshore wind is a critical component in meeting rising electricity demand from industry and data centres.
The letter said the federal government had previously concluded that offshore wind projects posed no national security threat and argued that the sudden reversal appeared “pretextual.”
The governors also contended that the move amounted to an unlawful delay, citing a recent court ruling that rejected federal efforts to pause new offshore wind development.
They urged Burgum to rescind the suspensions and allow construction to resume without further delay.
The letter was signed by New York Governor Kathy Hochul, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont and Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee.
