The Department of the Interior announced on Monday that leases for all large-scale offshore wind farms will be paused due to national security concerns, as turbine blades can cause radar interference that creates "clutter," obscuring legitimate targets and generating false targets.
The five leases that will be paused include Vineyard Wind 1, Revolution Wind, CVOW, Sunrise Wind, and Empire Wind.
DOI stated that the pause will "give the Department, along with the Department of War and other relevant government agencies, time to work with leaseholders and state partners to assess the possibility of mitigating the national security risks posed by these projects."
"Today, we are sending notifications to the five offshore wind projects that are under construction," Secretary Burgum said. "Their leases will be suspended due to national security concerns. During this suspension, we'll work with the companies to find a mitigation, but we've completed the work President Trump asked us to do. The Department of War has come back conclusively, that the issues related to these large offshore wind programs create radar interference that creates genuine risk for the U.S., particularly related to where they are in proximity ot our East Coast population centers."
.@SecretaryBurgum says @Interior is suspending the leases for five expensive, unreliable offshore wind farm projects due to national security concerns — including radar interference.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) December 22, 2025
(FACT: Just one natural gas pipeline can supply as much energy as these five projects combined) pic.twitter.com/A8PWhTKrBH
"The prime duty of the United States government is to protect the American people," Burgum stated in the press release. "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 Trump administration will always prioritize the security of the American people."
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