The Pentagon is holding up the development of more than 250 new onshore wind farms on private lands by failing to complete its national security reviews, according to an industry group. The Pentagon evaluates wind energy projects during the Federal Aviation Administration review process. But in recent weeks, it has stopped sending any projects back to the FAA, grinding the process to a halt, the American Clean Power industry association said. In a statement Thursday, the Pentagon said its siting clearinghouse is actively evaluating land-based wind energy projects to ensure they do not impair national security or military operations, in accordance with statutory and regulatory requirements — a process that involves complex, time-consuming interagency coordination. However, Jason Grumet, CEO of ACP, said there has never been anything remotely comparable to a backlog of this size or a near-systemwide halt in transmittals back to FAA.…