A US District Court ordered the Department of Defense to resume participation in wind project approval processes, striking down the Trump administration's attempt to halt wind development over national security claims.
<p>On Thursday, a US District Court in Oregon ordered the US government to restart the process of approving wind projects. All new wind development in the US has been on hold since August of 2025, when the Department of Defense (DoD) stopped participating in a process that allows it to compel developers to alter projects in order to limit their interference with radar equipment. The court ruled, however, that the DoD's national security claims did not allow it to opt out of a process that is legally mandated.</p>
<p>The Trump administration has made many attempts to block wind development, both offshore and land based. Its attempts to stop offshore wind included the same approach at issue in this case: Claim that drone developments mean that radar interference by wind turbines <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/12/us-government-finds-new-excuse-to-stop-construction-of-offshore-wind/">creates a national security risk</a>. The courts <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/02/court-orders-restart-of-all-us-offshore-wind-construction/">were not sympathetic</a> to this claim, including in cases where judges examined a classified report that the DoD was using to justify blocking offshore wind construction. As a result, the administration has turned to <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/03/trumps-latest-anti-wind-effort-pay-companies-to-abandon-offshore-leases/">paying companies</a> not to pursue wind development.</p>
<p>In parallel, the government was pursuing a similar approach for onshore wind. Here, a law lays out a process for the DoD to evaluate any problems posed by wind turbines and negotiate changes to planned wind farms with the developers. As laid out in the new decision, the government simply stopped participating in this process in August 2025, first by refusing to sign off on previously negotiated agreements, and later by refusing to draft agreements entirely. Eventually, it simply refused to participate in negotiations at all. This has brought a halt to all wind development in the US.</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/08/trump-is-losing-his-war-on-wind-power/">Read full article</a></p>
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# Trump is losing his war on wind power
Source: [https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/08/trump-is-losing-his-war-on-wind-power/](https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/08/trump-is-losing-his-war-on-wind-power/)
On Thursday, a US District Court in Oregon ordered the US government to restart the process of approving wind projects\. All new wind development in the US has been on hold since August of 2025, when the Department of Defense \(DoD\) stopped participating in a process that allows it to compel developers to alter projects in order to limit their interference with radar equipment\. The court ruled, however, that the DoD’s national security claims did not allow it to opt out of a process that is legally mandated\.
The Trump administration has made many attempts to block wind development, both offshore and land based\. Its attempts to stop offshore wind included the same approach at issue in this case: Claim that drone developments mean that radar interference by wind turbines[creates a national security risk](https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/12/us-government-finds-new-excuse-to-stop-construction-of-offshore-wind/)\. The courts[were not sympathetic](https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/02/court-orders-restart-of-all-us-offshore-wind-construction/)to this claim, including in cases where judges examined a classified report that the DoD was using to justify blocking offshore wind construction\. As a result, the administration has turned to[paying companies](https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/03/trumps-latest-anti-wind-effort-pay-companies-to-abandon-offshore-leases/)not to pursue wind development\.
In parallel, the government was pursuing a similar approach for onshore wind\. Here, a law lays out a process for the DoD to evaluate any problems posed by wind turbines and negotiate changes to planned wind farms with the developers\. As laid out in the new decision, the government simply stopped participating in this process in August 2025, first by refusing to sign off on previously negotiated agreements, and later by refusing to draft agreements entirely\. Eventually, it simply refused to participate in negotiations at all\. This has brought a halt to all wind development in the US\.
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