After Trump Pauses Offshore Wind Projects, Governors Demand Classified Briefing

Four Northeast governors last week demanded a classified briefing from the Trump administration to understand the national security risks underlying the pause on offshore wind project leases.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont and Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee also called for the pause to be lifted immediately on the five offshore wind projects, including Vineyard Wind 1 off the coast of Nantucket.

"It strains credulity to believe that vital, substantial projects that underwent many federal reviews and processes, including by the DoD (Department of Defense), all of a sudden present new, existential, unforeseen threats," the governors wrote in a letter to U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.

The Department of Interior announced Monday that it was pausing all large-scale offshore wind leases immediately in response to "national security risks identified by the Department of War in recently completed classified reports." The department said it would work with the Department of War and other government agencies to "assess the possibility of mitigating the national security risks posed by these projects."

In their requested briefing, the governors said they want a "clear description of the specific national security risks" and "[i]dentification of the particular project components, if any, alleged to give rise to those risks."

The governors wrote that federal officials did not notify states about "any purportedly new risk" before the project suspensions.

"The sudden emergence of a new 'national security threat' appears to be less a legitimate, rational finding of fact and more a pretextual excuse to justify a predetermined outcome consistent with the President’s frequently stated personal opposition to offshore wind," their letter says.

In its announcement, the Department of Interior pointed to national security risks that are "inherent" to large offshore wind projects and invoked unclassified federal government reports that "have long found that the movement of massive turbine blades and the highly reflective towers create radar interference called 'clutter.'"

The governors argued that, "If 'clutter' were such a grave threat, it might also apply to the thousands of oil rigs and other seaborne infrastructure in our coastal waters." They also emphasized the projects have already been vetted by federal officials, including at the Department of Defense.

"The military had the opportunity to raise concerns and object. They did not, and further certified there was no threat to national security," their letter says. "To claim a threat exists now, after billions of dollars have been invested in these projects and reviews fully completed, is the height of irrationality."

Fifty iron workers lost their jobs just before the holidays due to the halted work on Vineyard Wind, Ironworkers Local 7 said Tuesday. The union said it is "thoroughly disgusted and furious" at the administration's action.

"If we are serious about making energy more affordable and strengthening American industry, we need more energy projects of all types, not fewer," the union said. "We call on the president to reverse this decision so our members can get back to work providing reliable, affordable power for Massachusetts."