Northeast governors demand end to latest pause on offshore wind

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey and Rhode Island Gov, Dan McKee have written Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum demanding the immediate lifting of stop work orders for five offshore wind projects.

The reason cited for the pause by the Administration was “national security risks identified by the Department of War in recently completed classified reports.” Those risks, it seems, relate to radar clutter.

The governors in the letter also demand a classified briefing to review the unexplained national security threats used to place the stop work orders.

The letter notes that the targeted projects were approved after undergoing substantial federal reviews and processes, including by the U.S. Department of Defense.

The four Northeast governors blast the national security claims and supposed concerns about the impacts offshore wind farms have on radar as pretexts that contradict years of reviews and established practices. They also charge that the Trump Administration is only using the rationale as a “pretexual excuse to justify a predetermined outcome consistent with the President’s frequently stated personal opposition to offshore wind.”

The letter also warns Secretary Burgum that by blocking “gigawatts of domestic clean energy, you are effectively throttling the U.S. economy and handing a strategic advantage to foreign rivals who are building power generation as fast as they can. The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission’s 2025 Annual Report — ironically, also released in November — found that in 2024 alone, China added new capacity equivalent to one-third of the entire United States’ power grid, while the U.S. struggles to meet rising energy demands.”

“With this irrational and erratic action,” say the four Northeast governors, “you are not solving a national security crisis; you are creating both a national security and economic disaster. By obstructing domestic power generation, you are inviting grid failure, surrendering the industries of the future, and threatening the economy and national security.”

The pauses on the Empire Wind 1 and Sunrise Wind projects in New York combined threaten more than 2,600 good-paying union jobs. The two projects combined will also generate nearly more than 1,700 megawatts of power, roughly 10 percent of New York City’s electricity needs, meeting the growing demand for energy. Governor Hochul earlier this year successfully pushed the Trump Administration to lift a previous stop work order on the Empire Wind project.

• Read the full letter HERE

The post Northeast governors demand end to latest pause on offshore wind appeared first on Marine Log.