Trump administration's offshore wind stoppage hits more legal snags
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A barge lays cable in New York Harbor in July for the Empire Wind farm. Photo: Bryan Derballa/Bloomberg via Getty Images
A judge on Thursday handed the Trump administration another setback in its quest to thwart offshore wind projects, granting the Empire Wind project a preliminary injunction allowing construction to resume off New York's coast.
Why it matters: The U.S. offshore wind industry has increasingly — and successfully — looked to the courts to keep its plans on track in the face of President Trump's opposition to the technology.
- A separate federal judge in Virginia on Friday granted an preliminary injunction that allows power giant Dominion Energy to resume construction on the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, which the company says is 70% complete.
- It marks the third of five halted projects that are now authorized to keep building while court battles play out.
Driving the news: The injunction from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia overturns the Interior Department's December order suspending construction.
- Interior's move halted Empire and four other Atlantic coast offshore wind projects under construction.
- It follows an earlier move by the same court to allow construction to resume for the Revolution Wind project off Rhode Island's coast while the court battle over the administration's recent stop-work order plays out.
- The administration cited classified national security risks as justification for its action.
Zoom in: The Empire Wind project developer, Equinor, said in a statement it would "continue to engage with the U.S. government to ensure the safe, secure and responsible execution of its operations."
- The Empire and Revolution Wind rulings are "a victory for the New York and Connecticut ratepayers burdened by costly, unpredictable, and rising utility bills," Rob Freudenberg, vice president of energy and environment at New York environmental research group Regional Plan Association, said in a statement.
- Once completed, Empire Wind would provide enough power to electrify approximately 500,000 homes in New York, Equinor said.
Flashback: The Interior Department imposed, but then lifted, a stop-work order on Empire Wind last year.
What's next: Regarding the Virginia project, Dominion said it "will now focus on safely restarting work to ensure CVOW begins delivery of critical energy in just weeks."
- "While our legal challenge proceeds, we will continue seeking a durable resolution of this matter through cooperation with the federal government," the company said in a statement.
- If and when it's finished, that project will consist of 176 offshore wind energy turbines with a combined generating capacity of 2.6-gigawatts, per Dominion's tally.
- That's enough to help power up to 660,000 homes, it said.
The other side: The Interior Department didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with news on the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project ruling.
