US judge lets Danish firm resume Rhode Island offshore wind project halted by Trump | Ørsted
A federal judge on Monday allowed Danish offshore wind developer Ørsted to resume work on its nearly completed Revolution Wind project, which Donald Trump’s administration halted along with four other projects last month.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth is a legal setback for Trump, who sought to block the expansion of offshore wind energy in federal waters.
Ørsted’s Revolution Wind lawsuit is one of several filed by offshore wind companies and states seeking to overturn the Interior Department’s Dec. 22 suspension of five offshore wind leases over what it said were national security concerns.
There was no immediate comment from the Interior Department or Ørsted.
Government lawyers had argued that the pause was justified by new classified information regarding the national security impacts of offshore wind power revealed by the Pentagon in November.
Lamberth rejected the administration’s argument that national security concerns justified stopping the project, which he said would suffer irreparable harm without an injunction.
“You want to stop everything that’s in place, which is costing them a million and a half a day, while you decide what you want to do? Lamberth, who was appointed by Ronald Reagan, questioned Justice Department lawyer Peter Torstensen during the hearing.
Revolution Wind attorney Janice Schneider argued that the government pause violated federal laws governing administrative procedure and due process, adding that the developer had been unable to review the classified assessment of offshore wind energy.
“This court should be very skeptical of the government’s true motives,” Schneider said.
Offshore wind developers, including Ørsted, have faced repeated disruptions at multibillion-dollar projects under Trump, who has said he finds the turbines ugly, expensive and inefficient.
The project is about 87% complete and is expected to start generating electricity this year, Ørsted said.
Revolution Wind LLC is a 50:50 joint venture between Ørsted and Skyborn Renewables of Global Infrastructure Partners. Ørsted also filed a lawsuit on behalf of its Sunrise Wind project off the coast of New York.
Monday’s hearing was the first of three preliminary injunction hearings that will take place this week in lawsuits seeking to block the pause on offshore wind power. The others are Equinor’s Empire Wind, off the coast of New York, and Dominion’s Coastal Virginia offshore wind facility.
