The White House has once again halted leases for five major offshore wind projects, citing concerns over radar interference. This decision comes two weeks after a judge struck down President Donald Trump’s executive order blocking offshore wind development.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum stated that the pause in leases is necessary to address emerging national security risks posed by large-scale offshore wind projects near east coast population centers. The affected projects include Revolution Wind, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, Vineyard Wind, Empire Wind, and Sunrise Wind, totaling nearly 6 gigawatts of generating capacity for the Eastern seaboard.
The Department of the Interior referenced unclassified government reports and recently completed classified reports from the Pentagon to justify their action. This move is intended to give the government time to collaborate with stakeholders in addressing national security concerns related to radar interference.
Despite the Interior Department’s decision, ongoing efforts have been made by the government and wind developers to mitigate radar interference for years. Reports issued by the Department of Energy in February 2024 highlighted various projects aimed at addressing this issue, emphasizing the importance of collaboration between federal agencies and the wind industry.
Radar interference caused by wind turbines is a well-documented phenomenon that researchers have been studying for over a decade. The complex Doppler signatures of wind turbines pose challenges for radar operators, but adaptive processing algorithms like Space-Time Adaptive Processing can filter out interference signals.
Many wind farms are already designed with radar installations in mind, with mitigation strategies such as modifying wind farm layouts to avoid radar line-of-sight. While radar interference remains a concern, ongoing efforts to address these challenges demonstrate the commitment to balancing national security with renewable energy development.
