he administration paused leases for Vineyard Wind 1 off Massachusetts, Revolution Wind off Rhode Island, (Photo by Stephen Boutwell/Bureau of Ocean Energy Management)
The Trump administration delivered a major setback to the U.S. wind industry on Monday by halting construction of Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, the largest offshore wind project in the country, along with four other major developments off the East Coast.
The decision immediately rattled markets. Shares of Dominion Energy, the developer of the Virginia project, fell nearly 4% following the announcement. International developers were also hit hard, with Denmark-based Ørsted plunging 11% and Norway’s Equinor down about 1%.
In addition to Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, the administration paused leases for Vineyard Wind 1 off Massachusetts, Revolution Wind off Rhode Island, Sunrise Wind near Long Island and New England, and Empire Wind 1 south of Long Island. Collectively, the five projects were expected to generate enough electricity to power more than 2 million homes, according to project developers.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the leases were paused due to national security concerns raised by the Pentagon. The Interior Department stated that offshore wind turbines pose potential radar interference risks because of their size and reflective surfaces.
“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, citing turbine blades and “highly reflective towers” as a concern for military and aviation radar systems.
Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind is a massive 176-turbine project designed to supply electricity to more than 600,000 homes. Developed by Dominion Energy, the project was slated for completion next year and has been framed by supporters as critical to both energy reliability and national security.
Dominion strongly pushed back on the administration’s move, warning of serious consequences. “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,” the utility said in a statement. “It will also lead to energy inflation and threaten thousands of jobs.”
Northern Virginia is home to the largest concentration of data centers in the world, and growing demand from artificial intelligence has driven electricity usage sharply higher. Dominion and state leaders have argued that offshore wind is a key part of meeting that demand while controlling long-term energy costs.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, has voiced support for the project. Incoming governor Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, campaigned on tackling rising electricity prices in part by expanding renewable energy production.
The Interior Department said the pause will allow federal officials to “work with leaseholders and state partners to assess the possibility of mitigating the national security risks posed by these projects.”
President Donald Trump has aggressively targeted the wind industry since returning to office. On January 20, he ordered a halt to all new onshore and offshore wind leases and permits pending a broad federal review, signaling a sweeping shift in U.S. energy policy.
Democrats quickly condemned Monday’s announcement. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the move reckless and warned it would drive up energy costs.
“Trump’s obsession with killing offshore wind projects is unhinged, irrational, and unjustified,” Schumer said in a statement. “At a time of soaring energy costs, this latest decision from DOI is a backwards step that will drive energy bills even higher.”
Trump’s campaign against offshore wind has already faced legal challenges. Earlier this month, Patti Saris of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled that Trump’s earlier order halting wind development was “arbitrary and capricious and contrary to law,” casting uncertainty over whether the administration’s latest action will survive judicial scrutiny.
