Trump's recent tactic to impede offshore wind power: Utilize a national security rationale

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has halted the construction of the Revolution Wind offshore wind project, citing unspecified national security concerns. The 65-turbine project, which would generate electricity for 350,000 homes, was permitted by the Biden administration in 2023.

The decision to stop Revolution Wind is the latest in a series of moves by the Trump administration to curtail wind development. The Interior Department, which regulates offshore wind, halted construction after consulting with the Defense Department, which operates a clearinghouse to help identify suitable sites for onshore and offshore wind development that do not interfere with military radar.

The Defense Department's role in identifying offshore wind development areas has been a point of contention. Critics argue that massive spinning turbines degrade radar and hinder the military's ability to detect incoming threats. However, a series of studies, including from the Energy Department and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, have found that wind turbines can impair radar.

The anti-offshore wind group Green Oceans sent Interior officials a report titled "Canceling Offshore Wind Leases," which included a section on national security. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum cited radar interference and a theoretical swarm attack from undersea drones as potential national security threats.

However, not everyone agrees with these concerns. Kirk Lippold, an analyst who was serving as commander of the USS Cole when it was attacked by al Qaeda suicide bombers in 2000, called Burgum's concerns about an undersea drone attack "a specious argument."

The question is whether courts will see the national security rationale as a manufactured excuse or a legitimate use of the president's authority. Courts generally give the president wide latitude when it comes to national defense. The April stop order on Empire Wind, another offshore wind project, was lifted by President Donald Trump after it was halted on similar grounds.

President Trump has been critical of wind turbines in the past, calling them ugly, harmful to whales, and a financial scam. He also claimed to have struck a deal with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) to permit two natural gas pipelines in her state.

The agency asserted that the project would negatively impact commercial fishing, citing a report from NOAA that was never made public. The Interior Department paused Empire Wind, but not on the basis of national security. Elizabeth Knight, the president and co-founder of Green Oceans, did not respond to a request for comment.

The government's leasing and interagency coordination processes are designed to defer to the national security mission, creating workarounds or relinquishing geocapital operating capacity for offshore wind construction and operation, according to a report from Green Oceans. The industry's supporters say such claims are overblown and ignore ways to mitigate radar interference. The future of offshore wind development in the U.S. remains uncertain as these issues continue to be debated.