The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered a halt to construction activity on five offshore wind projects along the U.S. East Coast, citing emerging national security concerns, the Interior Department said on Tuesday.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the move was prompted by changes in technology and potential vulnerabilities linked to large-scale offshore wind developments near population centers.
“Today’s 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 centers,” Burgum said in a statement.
The department said the pause would provide time to work with leaseholders and state authorities to assess whether the risks could be mitigated. “The pause on work will allow for time to work with leaseholders and state partners to assess the possibility of mitigating the national security risks posed by these projects,” it said.
The affected projects include Ørsted’s 704-megawatt Revolution Wind and the 924-MW Sunrise Wind, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Avangrid’s 806-MW Vineyard Wind 1, Dominion Energy’s 2.6-gigawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, and Equinor’s 810-MW Empire Wind 1.
Equinor said it was seeking clarification from federal authorities. “We are aware of the stop work order announced by the Department of Interior involving five wind projects under offshore construction in the US,” an Equinor spokesperson said. “We are evaluating the order and seeking further information from the federal government.”
Industry groups criticised the decision, arguing that the projects had already undergone extensive federal review. Oceantic Network Chief Executive Liz Burdock said the pause would delay power supplies and investment. “The Trump Administration’s construction pause issued today on five U.S. offshore wind projects set to deliver nearly 6 GW of much-needed power is another veiled attempt to hide the fact that the President doesn’t like offshore wind,” she said, adding that the claim “contradicts years of rigorous, interagency reviews.”
Dominion Energy warned of potential consequences for electricity supply in Virginia. “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,” a company spokesperson said, noting that the project had involved years of coordination with the military and is located more than 25 miles offshore.
The spokesperson added that Dominion was “ready to do what is necessary to get these vital electrons flowing as quickly as possible.”
The Interior Department did not give a timeline for completing its review or lifting the construction pause.
