US freezes five offshore wind projects, shares slide on security concerns
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WASHINGTON: The United States on Monday (Dec 22) froze leases for five large offshore wind projects under construction off the East Coast, citing national security concerns, a move that sent shares of major developers sharply lower.
The decision by the administration of Donald Trump is the latest setback for an industry that has faced repeated disruptions under a president who campaigned on a pledge to end offshore wind development, arguing turbines are costly, inefficient and visually intrusive.
Shares of Danish energy group Orsted, which owns two of the affected projects, fell more than 12 percent in morning trade. Other developers with exposure to the projects, including Dominion Energy and Equinor, also traded lower.
PENTAGON FLAGS RADAR RISKS
The US Department of the Interior said the Pentagon had raised concerns that the movement of large turbine blades and the highly reflective towers supporting them could interfere with military radar systems, making it harder to detect and track potential threats.
“The prime duty of the United States government is to protect the American people,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement announcing the suspension.
The pause is intended to give federal agencies time to work with leaseholders and state authorities to assess whether the national security risks posed by the projects can be mitigated, the department added.
The affected developments include Orsted’s Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind projects, Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners’ Vineyard Wind 1, Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, and Equinor’s Empire Wind 1.
INDUSTRY, STATES PUSH BACK
Industry groups urged the administration to lift the freeze quickly, arguing that the projects have already undergone extensive national security reviews.
“The regulatory process involves a rigorous framework for assessing national security implications, and every project under construction has already been reviewed by the Department of Defense with no objections,” said Erik Milito, president of the National Ocean Industries Association.
Dominion Energy warned the suspension could threaten grid reliability in Virginia, including power supplies to military bases and data centres supporting artificial intelligence. “These electrons will power the datacenters that will win the AI race, support our warfighters and help build the nuclear warships needed to maintain maritime supremacy,” the company said.
LONG-STANDING OPPOSITION
The Trump administration has repeatedly targeted offshore wind. In August, it ordered Orsted to halt construction on Revolution Wind off Rhode Island, though a federal judge later lifted the ban. Earlier this year, a stop-work order on Equinor’s Empire Wind was eased as part of a compromise with New York state linked to a natural gas pipeline backed by Trump.
The uncertainty has weighed heavily on developers. Orsted earlier raised billions of dollars to shore up financing for US projects after potential partners were deterred by policy volatility and the administration’s hostility to wind power.
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