The White House said Monday that it would halt leases for five wind farms under construction off the East Coast, including off the coast of Long Island, citing national security concerns.
The five projects affected include the Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind projects, both off the coast of New York, as well as the Vineyard Wind 1 off Massachusetts, Revolution Wind off Rhode Island and Connecticut and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior.
“The prime duty of the United States government is to protect the American people,” Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said in a statement. “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.”
The Department of the Interior said the pause will give government agencies time to work with leaseholders and state partners to assess the possibility of mitigating the national security risks posed by these projects.
Erik Milito, the president of the National Ocean Industries Association, said the association calls for an end to the pause, saying that offshore wind improves national security by shifting economic, infrastructure, and geopolitical advantages to the U.S.
“The regulatory process involves a rigorous framework for assessing the national security implications of proposed projects, and every project under construction has already undergone review by the Department of Defense with no objections,” he said in a statement.
The pause comes after a a federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s bid to stop construction of offshore wind farms earlier in December.
The Dec. 8 ruling was the culmination of a lawsuit filed by a coalition of 17 states after Trump issued an executive order suspending federal approval for such projects.
“As New Yorkers face rising energy costs, we need more energy sources, not fewer,” said state Attorney General Letitia James, who led the coalition. “Wind energy is good for our environment, our economy, and our communities. I am grateful the court stepped in to block the administration’s reckless and unlawful crusade against clean energy.”
A judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted the coalition’s motion for summary judgment that declared he directive illegal and vacated the order.
The coalition filed suit in May after the administration issued a stop-work order halting the 54-turbine Empire Wind 1 project just as offshore construction got underway off Long Beach. The move raised concerns that the 84-turbine Sunrise Wind would be next.
Danish offshore wind farm developer Ørsted began construction last year on Sunrise Wind, which will be seven times bigger than its neighbor, South Fork Wind — the first utility-scale project of its kind in the nation — about 30 miles off the coast of Montauk. The 924-megawatt Sunrise Wind project, which is expected to power approximately 600,000 homes upon its target completion date in 2026.
Nassau County officials had pushed against wind and energy projects in the region in Long Beach in April.
