“Congress now has an opportunity—and an obligation—to correct this flawed process by requiring rigorous, upfront, full-footprint review of radar impacts on air safety and national security before any further offshore wind projects proceed to construction or operation.”
The Biden administration positioned large-scale offshore wind development as the centerpiece of its national decarbonization strategy. Under this mandate, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) conducted extensive multi-agency reviews, examining impacts on marine ecology, commercial fishing, and cultural resources. In rapid succession, it issued Findings of No Significant Impact and greenlit thirteen massive projects from Massachusetts to Virginia.
However, one critical risk category—radar interference—presents direct and unresolved implications for civilian air safety and national security.
1. The Technical Reality: A Problem Without a “Silver Bullet”
Offshore wind turbines create a documented technical hazard: the massive rotating blades generate Doppler returns that primary radar systems often misinterpret as real targets.…
New wind and solar projects are expected to decline sharply over the next two years as the One Big Beautiful Bill’s strict tax credit rules, supply chain restrictions, and aggressive enforcement drive up costs and risk. With subsidies set to expire after 2027 for new projects, the decades-long era of easy tax-driven renewable development is coming to an end.
“Under the new law, eligibility for the Production Tax Credit (PTC) and Investment Tax Credit (ITC) has become far more complex and legally uncertain. That’s by design. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act prioritizes strengthening America’s energy system with reliable, dispatchable power—not tax-driven projects that weaken the grid’s resilience.”
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) marks a major shift in U.S. energy policy—one that places American taxpayers and national interests squarely at the center of federal energy incentives.…
“The law remains clear: the Department of the Interior must ensure that offshore projects prevent unreasonable interference before approval — not simply allow harm and hope payouts will quiet objections.”
With offshore wind, a lethal tort issue lurks beneath the waves: Is it enough to pay off harmed ocean users after the fact, or does the law demand the government prevent harm in the first place? Under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), a clear answer is being dangerously overlooked.
OCSLA, originally passed in 1953 and amended by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, governs energy development on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Section 8(p)(4)(I) imposes a specific duty on the Department of the Interior: before approving offshore activities like wind development, the Secretary must ensure the project “provides for the prevention of interference with reasonable uses” of the ocean — including fishing, recreation, and navigation.…