Lease Suspended for Five Offshore Wind Farms
The U.S. wind power industry has been shaken after the Donald Trump administration put a halt to large-scale offshore wind projects being constructed along the East Coast of the United States.
On December 22 (local time), Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum announced on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), "The Department of the Interior is suspending leases for five expensive, unstable, and heavily subsidized offshore wind farms due to national security concerns identified by the Department of Defense."
This measure will halt five offshore wind projects currently under construction off the coasts of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Virginia, and New York.
According to Fox News and other sources, the Department of Defense raised concerns that the reflective properties of offshore wind towers and the movement of large turbine blades could interfere with radar signals. The presence of offshore wind towers may make it more difficult to detect moving targets by radar or could cause the detection of non-existent objects.
Following the news, shares of energy companies involved in these offshore wind projects in the affected regions dropped sharply. On this day, shares of Danish energy company Orsted plunged 12.67% on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange, while shares of Dominion Energy fell 3.72% on the New York Stock Exchange.
Secretary Burgum stated, "A single natural gas pipeline can supply as much energy as these five projects combined. President Trump is restoring common sense to energy policy and prioritizing security."
Although national security was cited as the reason, the offshore wind industry strongly objected, pointing out that President Trump has consistently taken a negative stance toward wind power. According to the offshore wind industry group Oceantic Network, the five projects slated for termination were expected to generate up to 6 GW (gigawatts) of electricity at full capacity-enough to power all of Manhattan.
Liz Burdock, CEO of Oceantic Network, criticized the decision, saying, "Due to the president's well-known preferences, millions of Americans will face higher energy costs, investment in the United States will be reduced, and thousands of people will be left indefinitely unemployed."
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