Clean Energy
NEW UPDATE Revolution Wind, Empire Wind Sue to Reverse Trump Halt of Five Offshore Wind Projects
DC federal court revokes December stop-work order Jan. 12 for $6B Revolution Wind project in New England, while set to hear case Jan. 14 for same action on $5B project in NY—with Jan.16 hearing in US court in Virginia to restart that state's giant $11B project.
Developers of the $6B Revolution Wind project, with construction seen here, will restart that work on the nearly completed offshore wind site in New England, following a Jan. 12 federal judge's ruling that revokes a Trump administration halt, also affecting four other large wind projects.
NEW UPDATE: Construction of the $6.2-billion Revolution Wind offshore wind energy project in New England can resume, said a Jan. 12 federal court ruling, while combined lawsuits by its developer and officials in Connecticut and Rhode Island proceed against the Trump administration for its Dec. 22 shutdown order of that project and four others on the East Coast.
That edict, which claims new “national security” risks caused by the nearly completed, fully permitted $6-billion project, was “unreasonable [and] seemingly unjustified,” said U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth in Washington, D.C. He reviewed a classified U.S. Defense Dept. report stating the alleged risks but noted in his ruling the lack of action by the U.S. Interior Dept. for a month after receiving it and also its failure to then fully explain why the shutdowns were necessary and how risks could be resolved.
Danish energy firm Orsted, Revolution Wind lead developer, said in a statement it will “restart impacted activities immediately,” previously saying the project, now 87% complete, was losing about $1.4 million daily in construction vessel and labor costs and would suffer “irreparable harm” if the initial 90-day order continued. It filed suit on Jan. 1 against the Trump order and filed an added motion several days later to reverse the Trump administration initial 90-day halt of work affecting its 924-MW Sunrise Wind project off New York—while developer Equinor added a new motion Jan. 5 to expedite action in its separate Jan. 2 suit against federal shutdown of its 810-MW Empire Wind project, also set to power New York.
At least two other rulings in project suits to halt the shutdowns based on claimed new "national security risks" were set to happen by Jan. 16. The five halted projects also include Vineyard Wind off Massachusetts and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind off Virginia Beach, and have a combined construction workforce of up to 2,000 and a total estimated $28-billion investment, said research group BloombergNEF.
Legal Escalations
A hearing on the Empire Wind suit is set for Jan. 14 also in the DC federal district court but will be heard by a different judge, Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee but who last year ruled against a local opponent group that sought a preliminary injunction to stop the project's construction..
Equinor has told the court that it must restart Empire Wind construction by Jan. 16 or the project "faces likely termination" because of the departure next month of its specialized construction vessel. The developer said it has invested more than $4 billion so far in development work and seeks to work with the administration to mitigate risks, but noted Molly Morris, president of the developer's U.S. operations, "[W]e haven’t been told what those challenges are.”
According to a report by military.com, attorneys for Empire Wind said the threat of project termination "became more acute" when the government took the position that certain ongoing construction activities deemed necessary for safety reasons were prohibited. "This development turned a dire situation for Empire Wind into a near terminal one, making immediate relief necessary," the attorneys said in the military.com report.
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While judges presiding over the remaining stop-work order litigation “are not strictly bound by Judge Lamberth’s ruling, [the] outcome could suggest favorable outlooks for those suspended projects, too,” said sector analyst ClearView Energy Partners LLC.
Attorneys general from Connecticut and Rhode Island also filed a joint suit in the D.C court seeking to lift the Revolution Wind shutdown, claiming economic harm to the states.
On Sunrise Wind, with about 45% of work completed, billions of dollars spent and power generation set to begin by this coming October, Orsted said it has installed 44 of 84 monopile foundations and an offshore converter station. Construction of the project's onshore electric infrastructure is substantially complete and near-shore export cables are in place, it said.
But in the government court filing, Jacob Tyner, an Interior Dept. official, said it remains unclear if developers can resolve claimed "national security risks" allegedly revealed in a recent Defense Dept. review. The administration contends these outweigh the project's economic harms, but the nature of the risks has not been disclosed, with the filing explanation heavily redacted, as the Rhode Island Current noted on Jan. 9.
Attorneys General William Tong in Connecticut and Peter Neronha in Rhode Island also filed on Jan. 5 a separate suit seeking a preliminary injunction against the Revolution Wind work shutdown. "Donald Trump is escalating his lawless and erratic attack on Connecticut ratepayers and workers," Tong said. “Revolution Wind was vetted and approved, and the Trump Administration has yet to disclose a shred of evidence to counter that thorough and careful process.”
White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said the administration looks forward to "ultimate victory on the issue," but did not confirm an appeal.
The legal response by Orsted and partner Skyborn Renewables, a unit of private investor BlackRock, sought to block the U.S. Interior Dept. lease suspension for Revolution Wind, which the owners said could start generating power to 350,000 Connecticut and Rhode Island users this month. The developers also had challenged an August 2025 administration stop-work order on the project, which was overturned one month later by the same federal court as the current action.
In its lawsuit, Equinor said it sought a similar block for the Empire I project, with estimated investment so far of $4 billion and now at 60% completion, including expansion and upgrade of a Brooklyn, N.Y., assembly port. The project, with 52 turbines, each 15 MW. is set to fully operate in 2027.
The project previously faced a Trump-ordered shutdown in spring 2025 that lasted for several weeks until it was reversed. That change followed discussions between the president and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), with unconfirmed reports that she agreed to consider new gas pipelines in the state as part of the arrangement. New York also filed suit against the current Trump shutdown.
The legal actions follow a Dec. 24 federal lawsuit against the order by Dominion Energy, which is soon to complete the estimated 2.6-GW, $11-billion Virginia offshore wind project. A federal judge in Norfolk, Va., will hear that lawsuit on Jan. 16. He declined on Dec. 28 to grant the developer an immediate halt to the stop-work order—but ordered the government to provide what it said are "recently completed classified reports" pointing to the project's alleged national security risks.
“Halting this project not only risks higher rates for consumers but leaves Virginia vulnerable to grid disruptions and national security risks,” said state Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger (D), who takes office on Jan. 17. Her predecessor, Republican Glenn Youngkin, had previously supported the project as well.
Equinor said that "Empire Wind and its contractors are complying with the order, while continuing activities required in order to prevent impacts to health, safety, and the environment."
The 800-MW Vineyard Wind project, now partially generating power to Massachusetts, has yet to publicly confirm legal action, although the shutdown does not affect its currently operating turbines.
Revolution Wind developers, in their new legal filing, asserted that the work halt violates federal laws and would cause substantial harm to the project.
They said the project “secured all required federal and state permits in 2023 after extensive reviews ... and multi-year consultations” with the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Defense Dept. and other federal agencies, resulting in "formal agreements" that outline "mitigation measures." Equinor stated that similar actions were taken and approvals obtained in executing its Empire 1 project lease in 2017. It is being developed under contract with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to supply near‑term power for New York City’s grid, the company said.
All 65 Revolution Wind turbine foundations, as well as offshore substations, export cables and 58 turbines, each 11 MW, are installed, said Orsted. The project has 20-year power purchase agreements with utilities Eversource, United Illuminating and National Grid for energy supply in Connecticut and Rhode Island, including "supporting the growing power needs of data centers and AI," the company said, adding that independent grid operator ISO New England has warned "that halting the project may increase electricity costs and lower reliability for the region.”
But the project is under time pressure to complete turbine construction by Feb. 22, when its specialized supporting vessel is obligated to another site. Also, it must begin generating power by Dec. 31, 2026, or utilities may have the right to terminate their power contracts, according to the Providence Journal in Providence, R.I.
The previous work stoppage also had cost the project more than $2 million per day, Orsted said.
