The U.S. is suspending leases for all five wind farms under construction off the East Coast in the latest blow to a sector that’s been targeted repeatedly by the Trump administration as part of its attack on clean energy.

The U.S. Interior Department announced the move Monday, citing national security concerns and saying the massive turbines may interfere with radar systems. Suspending the leases will let the administration work with developers and states to mitigate any security risks, the Interior Department said in a statement.

Shares of offshore wind companies slumped. Orsted A/S, the Danish company that’s co-developing the Revolution Wind project off Rhode Island, declined 13%. Vestas Wind Systems A/S, the Danish turbine maker, slipped 2.7% and Dominion Energy, developer of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, fell as much as 5.8%.

The suspension is the latest in a series of body blows for the nascent U.S. offshore wind industry. President Donald Trump has openly expressed disdain for the sector and imposed restrictions on it within hours of taking office this year, leading to numerous legal challenges. A federal judge ruled earlier this month that Trump’s ban on new projects was illegal.

It remains to be seen if citing national security will be a more legally durable way to keep wind turbines out of U.S. waters. The effect that offshore wind can have on radar has been known for years, said Pavel Molchanov, an analyst at Raymond James.

“I’m skeptical that there is any new information about the military concerns all of a sudden that single-handedly warrants projects being halted,” he said. “We know the administration is not a fan of offshore wind, to put it mildly.”

European nations have had wind farms off their coasts for years and haven’t experienced problems, according to Lara Skinner, executive director of the Climate Jobs Institute at Cornell University.

“There are other countries that have had offshore wind up and running for decades without any concerns,” she said in an interview. “All of these projects have gone through extensive review, including from the Department of Defense.”

Analysts at Jefferies said in a research note Monday that “the language used by the administration and prior experience on stop orders should bring some optimism projects could restart quickly.”

Lawmakers criticized the suspension, including Chris Murphy, a Democratic senator from Connecticut, who predicted another court battle over what he called an “illegal order” to stop projects that are almost fully complete.

“Trump’s war on wind unhinged and totally illegal,” he said in a post on the social media site X.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul said “there’s no credible justification” for curtailing work on the projects.

“The real threat to national security is in undermining our energy independence,” Hochul wrote in her own post on X.

Offshore wind farm projects raised national security concerns under previous administrations, too. The Defense Department under former President Joe Biden pushed successfully for changes to leases being sold along the West Coast to address some of the issues.

“These towers are gargantuan,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in an interview with Fox Business. “One can understand how they would create issues for radar.”

The projects impacted by the lease suspensions are Vineyard Wind 1 off Massachusetts, Revolution Wind, Coastal Virginia and Empire Wind 1 and Sunrise Wind, which are both off New York, according to the statement.

“The movement of massive turbine blades and the highly reflective towers create radar interference called ‘clutter,’” the Interior Department said in the statement.

Dominion said it had received an order to suspend work on the project for 90 days. The move, the company said, “will threaten grid reliability for some of the nation’s most important war fighting, AI, and civilian assets.”

Equinor said it is evaluating the order and seeking more information from the government. Orsted and Vineyard didn’t respond to requests for comment.

The wind industry is a significant economic driver, and the order will now threaten workers’ livelihoods.

“This is really concerning,” Skinner said. “There are people out there working on these projects, and now they’re not working and not getting paid, right before the holiday.”

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With assistance from Kellie Lunney and Monique Mulima.

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