VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Dominion Energy's Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project off the Virginia Beach coast is one of five projects the Trump administration announced Monday it will pause over what it called national security concerns.
The decision was made after the Pentagon identified national security risks in recently completed classified reports, according to a release by the Department of the Interior. It goes on to say that unclassified reports have found cases of radar interference from moving wind turbines and "highly reflective towers."
"The clutter caused by offshore wind projects obscures legitimate moving targets and generates false targets in the vicinity of the wind projects," the release said.
The release says the pause will give the administration time to address security risks with leaseholders and state partners.
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“The prime duty of the United States government is to protect the American people,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement. “Today’s action addresses 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.”
In a post to X, Sec. Burgum indicated one natural gas pipeline could provide as much energy as all five projects affected by the pause.
🚨Due to national security concerns identified by @DeptofWar, @Interior is PAUSING leases for 5 expensive, unreliable, heavily subsidized offshore wind farms!
— Secretary Doug Burgum (@SecretaryBurgum) December 22, 2025
ONE natural gas pipeline supplies as much energy as these 5 projects COMBINED. @POTUS is bringing common sense back to…
Dominion's project, located in the Atlantic Ocean 26 miles from Virginia Beach, has been under construction for years. Last month, Dominion reported that all 176 monopiles to hold the turbines had been constructed.
At last check, the $9.8 billion project — which has had support from Gov. Glenn Youngkin, whose term ends next month — was expected to be completed in late 2026. Dominion said it aimed to provide with enough power to deliver energy to hundreds of thousands of homes in Virginia.
