US Halts All Offshore Wind Construction, Citing Classified DoD Report

The U.S. Department of the Interior announced on Monday it's pausing the leases for all five offshore wind sites currently under construction, a move that impacts projects where significant hardware is already installed and one that is nearly complete. The administration is citing a classified report from the Department of Defense for the decision, in what appears to be a maneuver to sidestep legal challenges.

A Pattern of Obstruction and Legal Setbacks

The second Trump administration signaled its hostility to offshore wind on its very first day, issuing an executive order that halted new permits pending a re-evaluation. However, a judge vacated that order earlier this month, noting the government had shown no evidence it was even attempting the review it claimed was necessary.

Prior to this week's sweeping announcement, the administration's attempts to stop projects that were already permitted and under construction were erratic. Empire Wind, an 800 MW farm off New York, was briefly stopped by the Interior Department over allegations of rushed permitting, but the hold was lifted after lobbying from the state and developer Orsted. When the administration blocked a second Orsted project, Revolution Wind, the company successfully sued the government and won a ruling to continue construction.

A New Justification: National Security

After facing repeated defeats in court on a case-by-case basis, the administration's new strategy appears to be leveraging a justification that is much harder to challenge legally. By invoking a classified Department of Defense report, the government is shifting the argument to national security grounds, allowing it to halt all projects simultaneously and raising the stakes for the entire renewable energy industry in the United States.