The Pentagon is blocking more than 150 wind projects over drone fears

The Pentagon has quietly frozen approval for more than 155 new wind projects across 24 states, citing concerns that drones could exploit wind farms in ways that confuse military radar. Wind turbines already interfere with radar systems used by ships and aircraft, and for over a decade developers have had to work with the Defense Department to address that, sometimes paying to upgrade radar equipment. Now the Pentagon says those fixes may not be enough given the threat of small drones, and it has stopped moving new projects through the review process, without saying when or if it will resume.

Wind developers say the freeze, which has lasted almost a year, has cost them $2 billion and left projects unable to get financing or insurance. Some may have missed a July 4 deadline to qualify for federal tax credits under a 2025 law that is phasing out clean energy incentives. A coalition of energy companies and industry groups sued the Defense Department in May, arguing the freeze was done without the public notice normally required for this kind of policy shift, and that it could make some projects unworkable by causing missed deadlines and lost financing. The Pentagon says it is simply delaying action, not changing a rule, and that national security review should not bend to industry timelines.

This is separate from a related fight over offshore wind, where the administration has already paid developers billions to cancel projects after losing in court. For now, no onshore projects have been formally canceled, but the freeze affects a much larger amount of planned wind power, including on private land.