Before the holiday break, I wrote about a federal court in Massachusetts striking down the administration’s offshore wind moratorium. However, this victory for offshore wind development proved to be short-lived. The administration quickly moved through the Department of the Interior to suspend offshore leases for five major wind projects, citing national security risks as its rationale. S&P Global reports:
“Interior said in a release that a 90-day pause on the five projects would give Interior, Defense, and other agencies more time to work with offshore wind leaseholders and state partners ‘to assess the possibility of mitigating the national security risks posed by these projects.’
Interior identified these potential threats as ’emerging national security risks, including the rapid evolution of the relevant adversary technologies, and the vulnerabilities created by large-scale offshore wind projects with proximity near our east coast population centers.'”
After a brief glimpse of hope, the administration’s latest move throws offshore wind projects into limbo. The Department of the Interior’s suspension will likely draw further litigation around the matter as investors and developers continue to fight the administration’s assault on wind energy.
Our members can learn more about clean energy policy here.
Interested in a membership with access to the complete range of benefits and resources? Sign up now and take advantage of our no-risk “100-Day Promise” – during the first 100 days as an activated member, you may cancel for any reason and receive a full refund. But it will probably pay for itself before then. Members also save hours of research and reading time each week by using our filtered and curated library of ESG/sustainability resources covering over 100 sustainability subject areas – updated daily with practical and credible information compiled without the use of AI.
Practical Guidance for Companies, Curated for Clarity.
