The US Department of the Interior has issued stop-work orders and suspended construction at all large-scale offshore wind projects currently under construction in the United States, citing “national security risks identified by the Department of War in recently completed classified reports.”
The action affects five offshore wind developments with a combined capacity of 5.8 gigawatts: Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind-Commercial, Empire Wind 1, Revolution Wind, Sunrise Wind, and Vineyard Wind 1.
Empire Offshore Wind LLC, a subsidiary of Equinor, confirmed it is complying with a notice received from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on Dec. 22. The company said the Empire Wind project is more than 60 percent complete, with trenching, cable-laying, and cable pulling activities underway on the US outer continental shelf.
The developer noted that dozens of vessels, approximately 1,000 workers, and more than 100 companies across the US and globally have been engaged on the project. Empire warned that the stop-work order threatens ongoing operations and said that without a swift resolution, the suspension could significantly impact project progress.
Ørsted said Revolution Wind LLC and Sunrise Wind LLC are also complying with their respective orders and are taking steps to suspend activities in a manner that avoids risks to health, safety, and the environment. The company added that it is evaluating all available options to resolve the situation, including engagement with BOEM and other permitting agencies, as well as the potential pursuit of legal proceedings.
Both Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind are in advanced construction stages and were expected to deliver power to American homes in 2026, with Revolution Wind scheduled to begin generating electricity in January.
Dominion Energy, the developer of the 2.6-gigawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, said the 90-day suspension order poses broader risks to the nation’s energy system.
“CVOW enjoys bipartisan support and is within months of generating a massive 2,600 megawatts to support the fastest growing part of America’s energy grid. This growth serves the largest concentration of critical infrastructure in the world,” Dominion Energy said in a statement, adding that the pause “will threaten grid reliability for some of the nation’s most important war fighting, AI, and civilian assets.”
Oceantic Network CEO Liz Burdock sharply criticized the move, calling it “another veiled attempt to hide the fact that the President [Trump] doesn’t like offshore wind.”
“The U.S. offshore wind industry has continuously worked with the Department of Defense to address national security concerns, and its own Clearinghouse has signed off on every offshore wind lease ahead of construction,” Burdock said.
She added that the action follows recent legal setbacks for the administration’s offshore wind policies.
“This latest attack follows recent industry court victories against the administration’s attempts to slow down offshore wind. Just two weeks ago, a federal judge vacated the Administration’s previous permitting pause, ruling it unlawful. Earlier this fall, a separate judge ordered an injunction against the administration’s Stop Work order against Revolution Wind, finding it unsubstantiated. This newest claim contradicts years of rigorous, interagency reviews, as these projects have already passed explicit clearances from the Department of Defense and the Pentagon before construction began.”
The suspension introduces new uncertainty for the US offshore wind sector, which has faced a series of regulatory, legal, and political challenges in recent years. The affected projects represent a significant share of near-term offshore wind capacity expected to support grid decarbonization, energy security, and domestic supply chain development.
Developers and industry groups are now closely watching how federal agencies respond in the coming weeks and whether legal challenges could again overturn the stop-work orders, as has occurred in previous cases.
Originally reported by Adnan Durakovic in Offshore Wind.
