The suspension will let the administration work with developers and states to mitigate any security risks. — Bloomberg
Washington: The United States is suspending leases for all five wind farms under construction off the East Coast, the latest blow to an industry that’s been targeted repeatedly by the Trump administration as part of its attack on clean energy.
The US Interior Department announced the move Monday, citing national security concerns as the massive turbines may interfere with radar systems.
The suspension will let the administration work with developers and states to mitigate any security risks, the department said in a statement.
The projects impacted are Vineyard Wind 1 off Massachusetts; Coastal Virginia, which lies off the coast of its titular state; Revolution Wind, near Rhode Island; and Empire Wind 1 and Sunrise Wind, both off the coast of New York.
The five projects represent about US$28bil in total committed capital, according to BloombergNEF.
Shares of offshore wind companies slumped. Orsted A/S, the Danish company co-developer of Revolution Wind, declined 13%.
Danish turbine maker Vestas Wind Systems A/S slipped 2.7% while Dominion Energy, developer of Coastal Virginia, fell 3.7%.
The suspensions raise a fresh question mark over the future of an emerging sector that’s been in Donald Trump’s sights even before he was elected to his second term as president.
Trump has openly expressed disdain for wind power and imposed restrictions on offshore projects within hours of taking office in January, leading to various legal challenges.
A federal judge ruled earlier this month that the president’s ban on new projects was illegal.
It remains to be seen if citing national security will be a more legally durable way to keep wind turbines out of US waters. The effect that offshore wind can have on radar has been known for years, said Pavel Molchanov, an analyst at Raymond James.
“I’m sceptical that there is any new information about the military concerns all of a sudden that single-handedly warrants projects being halted,” he said. “We know the administration is not a fan of offshore wind, to put it mildly.”
European nations have had coastal wind farms for years and haven’t experienced problems, according to Lara Skinner, executive director of the Climate Jobs Institute at Cornell University.
“All of these projects have gone through extensive review, including from the Department of Defense,” she said in an interview, referring to the suspended US projects.
Analysts at Jefferies said in a research note that “the language used by the administration and prior experience on stop orders should bring some optimism that projects could restart quickly”. — Bloomberg
