Large-scale offshore wind projects are being paused due to national security concerns, the Interior Department announced Monday.
The pauses affect Vineyard Wind 1, Revolution Wind, Commercial, Sunrise Wind, and Empire Wind 1. The Trump administration has targeted offshore wind projects over the last year, delaying or canceling some of them in a nod to shifts in energy priorities.
“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,” said Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in a statement. “The Trump administration will always prioritize the security of the American people.”
Interior cited government reports that “have long found that the movement of massive turbine blades and the highly reflective towers create radar interference called ‘clutter.’ The clutter caused by offshore wind projects obscures legitimate moving targets and generates false targets in the vicinity of the wind projects,” the department said in the release.
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