Trump administration ended 2025 with revoked five wind power plants
The Pentagon is judged to have been involved in approving such projects under the previous administration.
MOSAIC-INDONESIA.COM; Donald Trump's administration closes 2025 by again showing resistance to energy transition efforts pioneered earlier. In late December, Trump suspended drilling permits for five large offshore wind power projects under construction off the US east coast under the pretext of national security concerns.
Trump's policy triggered shares of offshore wind power companies holding the project to plummet. The suspension is a 'repeated blow' for offshore wind power developers who have repeatedly faced disruption to their multibillion-dollar projects under Trump. The Republican president considers wind turbines to be ugly, expensive, and inefficient products, Reuters reports.
State officials, Democratic lawmakers, offshore wind power companies, and industry trade groups denounced the move as unwarranted. The U.S. Interior Department said the decision was the result of Pentagon complaints that the movement of large turbine blades for offshore wind power projects, as well as the highly reflective towers that support them, caused radar interference that could complicate identification and location determination of security threats.
This pause will give relevant federal agencies time to work with lease rights-holders and state partners to assess possible mitigation of national security risks posed by these projects,” the department said in a statement. “The primary duty of the United States government is to protect the American people,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in the statement.
As a result of Trump's policies, shares of manufacturers such as Orsted fell by more than 12%. Big manufacturers such as Dominion and Equinor are also in decline. Dominion said the suspension would threaten the reliability of the power grid for its customers in Virginia, including military bases and data centers that support artificial intelligence.
“These electrons will power data centers that will win the AI race, support our warfighters, and build the nuclear warships needed to maintain our maritime supremacy,” the company said.
Orsted said its projects have been geared up to supply electricity to about 1 million homes in the three states starting next year. “Orsted is evaluating all options to resolve this matter expeditiously, along with its partners,” the company said.
The Revolution Wind project, which is a joint venture between Danish companies Orsted and Skyborn Renewables, is located 15 miles off the coast of Rhode Island. They have even completed 80% of its work with all offshore foundations installed. A total of 45 of the 65 wind turbines have also been installed.
A drone display shows rotor blades and other parts for the ongoing construction of Revolution Wind's offshore wind turbine field, staged at the State Pier in New London, Connecticut, U.S., September 23, 2025. The Revolution Wind project, which is a joint venture between Danish company Orsted.
Equinor said it was also evaluating the suspension. Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners could not immediately be reached for comment. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said in separate statements on Monday that states affected by the freeze were reviewing their options.
“The Trump administration will look for any excuse to continue its attack on clean energy -- and the thousands of high-paying jobs these projects generate -- but there is no credible justification for this shutdown,” Hochul said.
The National Ocean Industries Association, a trade group representing offshore wind energy developers, urged the government to end the suspension immediately. The association revealed that the Pentagon had been involved in approving such projects under previous administrations.
“The regulatory process involves a rigorous framework for assessing the national security implications of proposed projects, and every project under construction has undergone review by the Department of Defense without objection,” NOIA President Erik Milito said.
Prominent Democratic leaders who chair the Senate environment and energy committees have said they will not support a bipartisan licensing reform effort by 2026 unless the government halts the shutdown of offshore wind energy.
“Illegal attacks on renewable energy projects that have gained full permits must be reversed if there is any chance of licensing talks resuming,” Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich said in a joint statement.
In August, the Trump administration ordered Orsted to halt construction of the Revolution Wind project off the coast of Rhode Island that had already gone far enough, although a federal judge later lifted the ban.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration lifted a work stoppage order on Equinor's Empire Wind project. The policy was judged to be a form of compromise with New York state that paved the way for the construction of a Trump-backed natural gas pipeline.
In his campaign while running for president, Trump promised to end the offshore wind energy industry - saying “windmills” were too expensive and harming whales and birds - while promoting oil and gas.
