The Department of Defense has frozen approvals for roughly 165 on‑shore wind projects on private land, invoking national‑security concerns. Developers report that applications once in negotiation—or even those traditionally deemed low‑risk—are now stuck without communication or rescheduled meetings. The shutdown, first flagged by the American Clean Power Association, threatens projects that together could supply about 30 gigawatts of power and jeopardize local jobs.

Since August 2025, the DoD has halted processing, cancelling meetings and ignoring routine radar‑filter payments that normally clear sites in days. About 35 projects that had completed negotiations await written sign‑off, another 30 sit with verbal approvals, and roughly 100 are either mid‑negotiation or previously classified as risk‑free. The pause erases anticipated revenue for landowners and developers and tax incentives.

The move fits President Donald Trump’s broader campaign against wind energy, which he has called the “worst form of energy.” Recent actions include refunding offshore leases in exchange for a $1 bn investment from TotalEnergies and repeated court defeats on similar security claims. With the DoD’s stance unchanged, investors face immediate project delays and potential write‑offs for the grid.