The Trump administration on Monday suspended leases for five large-scale offshore wind projects under construction along the East Coast due to what it said were national security risks identified by the Pentagon.
Among the affected projects is Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, which has been under construction about 27 miles off of the Virginia Beach coast since 2023.
Expected to be completed next year, the 176 wind turbines would generate enough electricity to power 660,000 homes, providing a new, carbon-free power source as the state grapples with rising energy demands, according to the project website.
Offshore wind projects in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, and New York were also targeted.
The U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees offshore wind, ordered a 90-day pause on the leases for the facilities will give it time to work with the Defense Department and other agencies to assess the possible ways to mitigate any security risks posed by the projects. The statement did not detail the national security risks. It called the move a pause, but did not specify an end date.
“The prime duty of the United States government is to protect the American people,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement. “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.”
Dominion, Virginia representatives defend project
Dominion Energy argued in a statement that the Coastal Virginia project is, in fact, “essential” for reinforcing national security in addition to meeting energy needs that are growing faster than those in any other state in the country.
Noting that the project has been planned for more than a decade and was already vetted by both state and federal regulators, the utility stressed its potential to benefit the data center and defense industries:
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. It will also lead to energy inflation and threaten thousands of jobs.
CVOW is American-owned and benefits all of our Virginia customers. Our customers are paying for the project after a careful review of project costs and benefits by Virginia state regulators in 2022. These same state regulators, along with numerous federal agencies, oversee our cyber and physical security program, which is among the strongest in the energy industry.
The project has been more than ten years in the works, involved close coordination with the military, and is located 27 to 44 miles offshore, so far offshore it does not raise visual impact concerns. The project’s two pilot turbines have been operating for five years without causing any impacts to national security.
CVOW enjoys bipartisan support and is within months of generating a massive 2,600 megawatts to support the fastest growing part of America’s energy grid. This growth serves the largest concentration of critical infrastructure in the world.
“We stand ready to do what is necessary to get these vital electrons flowing as quickly as possible,” Dominion added.
Virginia’s Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, along with Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Virginia), who represents the Hampton Roads region, questioned the basis for the Trump administration’s suspension of offshore wind development.
Though Kaine and Warner occupy senior roles on the Senate’s intelligence and armed services committees, the senators said they haven’t received any information supporting the administration’s claims of national security concerns.
“Virginia’s offshore wind project has undergone years of rigorous review and represents a critical step toward strengthening our energy independence, lowering energy costs for American families, growing our clean energy economy, and positioning the Commonwealth as a global leader in this industry,” the senators and Scott said. “When a project that has met every requirement is suddenly stopped without explanation, it is fair to ask whether this decision is being driven by evidence, or by personal and political grievance.”
Virginia Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-34), who represents southeastern Fairfax County, suggested President Donald Trump was punishing Virginians for electing Democrat Abigail Spanberger as governor in November, urging outgoing Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Attorney General Jason Miyares — both Republicans — to “DO SOMETHING to protect the people they swore to defend.”
Govt cannot pull issued permits while turbines are being erected & rights have vested – Trump’s blatantly illegal political payback to VA for voting for @SpanbergerForVA should be called out by Youngkin/Miyares who must DO SOMETHING to protect the people they swore to defend
— Majority Leader Scott Surovell (@ssurovell.bsky.social) December 22, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Trump administration claims security concerns
The Interior Department said unclassified reports from the U.S. government have long found that the movement of massive turbine blades and the highly reflective towers create radar interference called “clutter.” The clutter caused by offshore wind projects can obscure legitimate moving targets and generate false targets in the vicinity of wind projects, the Interior Department said.
That argument was disputed by national security expert and former Commander of the USS Cole Kirk Lippold, who said that all of the offshore projects were awarded permits “following years of review by state and federal agencies,” including the Coast Guard, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, the Air Force and more.
“The record of decisions all show that the Department of Defense was consulted at every stage of the permitting process,” Lippold said, arguing that the projects would benefit national security because they would diversify the country’s energy supply.
The administration’s action comes two weeks after a federal judge struck down Trump’s executive order blocking wind energy projects, saying the effort to halt virtually all leasing of wind farms on federal lands and waters was “arbitrary and capricious” and violates U.S. law.
Judge Patti Saris of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts vacated Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order blocking wind energy projects and declared it unlawful.
Saris ruled in favor of a coalition of state attorneys general from 17 states and D.C., led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, that challenged Trump’s Day One order that paused leasing and permitting for wind energy projects.
Trump has been hostile to renewable energy, particularly offshore wind, and prioritizes fossil fuels to produce electricity. Trump has said wind turbines are ugly, expensive and pose a threat to birds and other wildlife.
Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind photo via Dominion Energy
