In mid-July, I had a piece on the ongoing battle between the Department of War and wind developers waiting on the military portion of the review process, which had basically ground to a halt. The delay was affecting nearly 150 projects in the pipeline awaiting approval, but the real financial sting was in the offshore industry, where the overhead costs alone are enormous.
...The War Department recognized this over a year ago, and it's only recently been revealed that they've held up the permitting process for over 150 wind farms for that very reason.
Wind turbines can confuse radar systems on ships and aircraft. Their massive rotating blades create a “blade flash” on radar screens, while their steel bases reflect electromagnetic waves, making it difficult to distinguish the turbines from aircraft or other objects. That’s a problem for the military, which relies on radar for threat detection and navigation. For over a decade, the Pentagon has used a permitting program to review proposed projects and mitigate the effects on radar. Wind developers are required to submit project proposals, address military requests, and in some cases pay to upgrade radar systems to tune out the turbines.
But now, in a world where small, deadly drones can zip through wind farms, the Pentagon says those upgrades may not be sufficient.
For almost a year, the Pentagon has effectively frozen the permitting process for at least 155 new wind projects in 24 states, citing drone concerns, according to research from the American Clean Power Association, an industry advocacy organization. As long as the freeze persists, developers say, no new wind projects can begin construction. The Pentagon has not revealed when or if it will resume approving new projects.
Naturally, there were lawsuits filed by the states that had stakes in these projects as well as the developers themselves, and today a federal judge did what they've been doing pretty consistently lately - told the Trump administration to get off the stick and fire up the review process again.
US Court Orders Lifting of Trump’s Freeze on Wind Projects
A federal judge ordered that the US Defense Department must temporarily lift its freeze on approvals for wind energy projects, which has threatened billions of dollars in investment.
US District Judge Karin Immergut on Thursday sided with renewable energy groups that had sued to unwind the freeze, issuing a preliminary injunction requiring the Pentagon to resume reviews of wind farms to determine whether they interfere with military operations. The injunction will stay in place while the lawsuit plays out.
Since April, the Pentagon had halted the security reviews, which are required to be conducted in a timely fashion, the coalition of wind energy trade associations and environmental groups said in their injunction request. The Pentagon didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
The way the process works is that once a request gets through the DOW, it then has to be filed with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for their approval, so it's not as if the DOW was the last wicket and turbines go up.
They'll have to resume the reviews even as the lawsuit plays out.
In other news, though, the Trump administration's counterinsurgency plan for stymieing wind developments by buying wind leases out has scored for the 5th time. German multinational RWE has agreed to walk away from wind leases in New York, Louisiana and California for the princely sum of $1.2b, while announcing at the same time investments of over $1b in natural gas facilities in Louisiana.
An offshore wind company said on Thursday that it reached a $1.2 billion deal with the Trump administration to walk away from projects under development off New York, California and Louisiana.
RWE US Offshore said its leases represented years of planning, investment and partnership with federal agencies, but it determined there was no path forward to permit the projects for the foreseeable future. In exchange for $1.22 billion, RWE is relinquishing the wind power leases.
President Donald Trump, who often talks about his hatred of wind power, has said his goal is to not let any “windmills” be built. The Republican administration has been buying back offshore wind leases from energy companies as it seeks to discourage the expansion of wind energy in favor of fossil fuels. Offshore wind produces electricity cleanly. Oil, coal and natural gas emit carbon pollution when burned.
RWE announced it is investing $900 million in a liquified natural gas project in Louisiana and spending $300 million on natural gas turbines. The company is developing 15 natural gas peaking projects across the United States.
This latest deal brings the total amount spent on these agreements to roughly $3.9 billion. The administration adopted this strategy after federal courts thwarted Trump’s efforts to stop offshore wind development through executive action.
That's an amiable arrangement in anyone's book unless you're a climate cultist.
California is going to sue. No surprise there.
Chuck Schumer ranted about corruption and was just as swiftly crushed by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
...Minority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized the deal as an example of corruption and said it would make electric bills more expensive.
“Everything the Trump administration does can be summed up in four words: CORRUPTION AT YOUR EXPENSE,” the New York Democrat wrote in a post on X.
“Trump is again spending billions of taxpayer money to limit the U.S. energy supply in favor of exporting more energy to countries like China. This will only make your utility bill MORE expensive,” he added.
In response, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum defended the deal and criticized Democrats.
“Wrong on every count, @SenSchumer,” Burgum wrote in his own social media post.
“1. ZERO taxpayer money will be spent. It’s a dollar-for-dollar repurposing of RWE’s own money. 2. The REAL CORRUPTION was you and Joe Biden forcing Americans to bankroll Green New Scam subsidies for expensive, unreliable, weather dependent, foreign sourced energy,” he added. “3. The Trump administration believes in energy ADDITION. Your climate extremist energy ‘transition’ was actually energy SUBTRACTION—which drove up electric bills. 4. Thanks to @POTUS companies are investing in affordable, reliable, secure American energy, increasing production, creating jobs, and lowering costs.”
I love how these Trump secretaries are totally on their games.
Americans deserve an energy system built on common sense, not one dependent on costly subsidies or technologies that can't meet our country’s current demand.
— Secretary Doug Burgum (@SecretaryBurgum) August 6, 2026
We welcome RWE’s agreement and voluntary investment in projects that strengthen our nation's energy security, provide…
...We welcome RWE’s agreement and voluntary investment in projects that strengthen our nation's energy security, provide dependable baseload power and help keep electricity affordable for hardworking Americans today while supporting our country's long-term energy future.
Green fever dreamers hit hardest.
Anyone else notice the issue with the line of argumentation here? pic.twitter.com/NvfHJXtfgx
— Derek Pederson 🇺🇸🇺🇦🇻🇪 (@DerekPederson3) August 6, 2026
One hand gives, the other takes away, but one thing is for sure - this is another promise the Trump administration is doing their damnedest to keep.
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