Trump Administration Puts a Deep Freeze on 5 East Coast Wind Farms
The move is sparked by concerns over national security and the impact on radar systems, which were completely ignored by the Biden administration.
President Donald Trump’s administration has just made a move that will put a chill in the hearts of climate cultists everywhere, yet warm the hearts of Americans who long for environmentally healthy coastlines and affordable, reliable energy.
The Interior Department, led by Secretary Doug Burgum, just put a deep freeze on the continuing construction of five East Coast wind farms.
The Department of the Interior “is PAUSING leases for 5 expensive, unreliable, heavily subsidized offshore wind farms! ONE natural gas pipeline supplies as much energy as these 5 projects COMBINED,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum wrote in a social media post.
In a statement emailed to CBS News, the administration said it is pausing the following wind farm leases:
- Vineyard Wind 1
- Revolution Wind
- CVOW – Commercial
- Sunrise Wind
- Empire Wind 1
.@SecretaryBurgum says @Interior is suspending the leases for five expensive, unreliable offshore wind farm projects due to national security concerns — including radar interference.
(FACT: Just one natural gas pipeline can supply as much energy as these five projects combined) pic.twitter.com/A8PWhTKrBH
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) December 22, 2025
Legal Insurrection readers will be very familiar with several of these projects. Vineyard Wind experienced a blade failure that resulted in sharp fiberglass debris coating beaches along Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Revolution Wind was restarted only after a federal judge issued orders. The project had been halted because the Trump administration failed to adequately address security concerns and complaints about potential impacts on fisheries.
This May, the Trump Team had apparently worked out a deal for New York to proceed with Empire Wind, in exchange for allowing work on a natural gas pipeline.
Natural security concerns about the impact of these projects on radar were cited as the reason for the freeze.
The Interior Department’s description of its decision said the Pentagon had produced classified reports that found the wind farms posed national security risks and that an unclassified report from the Energy Department had found that wind farms could interfere with radar systems.
Vineyard Wind 1 is currently under construction and partially operational, with about half of the project’s 62 turbines sending power to the electric grid as of October. Once complete, the project could produce enough electricity to power 400,000 homes.
Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind had escaped the Trump administration’s ire for months, in part because of strong support from Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Republican of Virginia. Its fate became uncertain after Abigail Spanberger, a moderate Democrat, won the Virginia governor’s race in November.
Empire Wind has had an on-again, off-again relationship with the Trump administration. In April the Interior Department ordered that construction be stopped on Empire Wind, pushing the $5 billion project to the brink of collapse. After several weeks and negotiations with Gov. Kathy Hochul, Democrat of New York, the administration allowed the project to proceed, at least until now.
The impact of wind turbines on radar systems has been known for decades — which is why the federal government has funded so much research on the problem and why multiple agencies must approve new projects! All this occurs before costs are sunk in wind farm ventures. pic.twitter.com/hdPtue0K7a
— Doug Pinkham (@dougfromDC) December 22, 2025
To say climate cultists and their Democratic supporters are in hysterics would be an understatement.
President Trump is pausing offshore wind projects because of national security risks.
Chuck Schumer calls that “dictatorship.”
According to Democrats, protecting America from threats now makes you a dictator. pic.twitter.com/y2OKLLiCqC
— Daniel Turner (@DanielTurnerPTF) December 22, 2025
Hot Air’s Beege Welborn, who follows both American energy and security issues closely, notes that the radar issues have been a serious concern for quite some time, but that these concerns were ignored in the rush to renewables.
Seven years ago, a little local station in Oklahoma did a story on the spread of wind farms in that state and how local meteorologists were already concerned about the effect on weather radar.
The paperwork for Vineyard Wind has radar interference addressed in it, but only as far as the developer being responsible for mitigating the interference if it’s found that the massive towers do cause a problem.
Well, I’m sorry – that’s ‘barn door after the horse is already out’ planning, only with lives in airliners.
https://twitter.com/BenSchifman/status/2003146899365503444
It must be noted that the Department of War’s findings on the subject were “conclusive” about the vulnerabilities created by these projects.
The Department of War’s report, which prompted the Interior Department’s action, cites radar interference as the primary national security concern. Specifically, the rotating turbine blades and highly reflective tower structures disrupt military radar systems, potentially compromising detection capabilities for incoming threats.
The report emphasizes the risks posed by these installations’ proximity to densely populated East Coast areas, where evolving adversary technologies could exploit such vulnerabilities. Secretary Burgum highlighted that the DoD’s findings were “conclusive,” noting that these projects create a “genuine risk” to U.S. defense operations.
Personally, I am happier that the plug has been pulled on these behemoths, as I believe it will be better for whales and the region’s marine mammals as well.
Instead of whales, the offshore wind scam is what's washing up dead now. https://t.co/VfMRejAuJG pic.twitter.com/FyWGoqa2EP
— Steve Milloy (@JunkScience) December 22, 2025
The Trump administration’s decision to pause leases for these massive offshore wind projects is an early Christmas gift for those worried about national security, the health of marine ecosystems, and the ability of the public to enjoy a day at the beach without fiberglass shards. By effectively putting these massive turbine arrays “on ice” for now, the move offers coastal communities and environmental advocates a rare holiday reprieve to push for tougher protections and a smarter balance between energy development and ocean stewardship.
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Comments
Sorry, Charlie, the dictatorship is when you pathetically corrupt scoundrels forced this Marxist boondoggle onto the nation’s lands and pocketbook.
Wind farms are not profitable without Government Subsidies. End of story.
“According to Democrats, protecting America from threats now makes you a dictator.”
That’s because the threats are ALWAYS Democrats.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
This is great news. Too bad its labeled as a ‘pause’. While its paused, now seems like a good time to make a plan on how to get those ugly, marine animal killers completely out of the water.
Migrating animals of all types would benefit
Where’s Greenpiece on all of this?
Wheres RI Coastal resource, or the EPA?
Maybe I’ve missed their comments but all I’ve heard is crickets.
Anyway, this is GREAT NEWS.
I forgot to add:
green-oceans.org
Check it out
Never mind what the blades do to birds. Where’s the outrage from bird conservation groups? Oh, that’s right. They’re too busy protesting against pipelines. You know, those little slivers of land going through a colossal first? Priorities!
Some of these turbines also generate unhealthy infrasound.
Wind Farms do not last, they do not produce the power of a power plant, they kill birds and if in the oceans they kill Whales, and they should not get any money from the government.
All these various Environmental and Non-Profit Groups are really just in for the money as they do not care about what they say. You can check out each of their leaders and most have a base salary of over $500k per year with benefits.
Strange how Greenpeace, Ocean Guardians, Sea Shepherd, World Wildlife Fund etc have nothing to say when giant windmills off the coasts are killing whales.
Well, hold on a minute now….
“The report emphasizes the risks posed by these installations’ proximity to densely populated East Coast areas, where evolving adversary technologies could exploit such vulnerabilities.”
———————
That’s a lot of democrats we could do without if something happened………..