U.S. Judge Lifts Trump’s Halt of Nearly Complete Wind Project, Citing ‘Irreparable Harm’

A U.S. federal judge ruled Monday that Revolution Wind, a nearly complete offshore wind project halted by the U.S. administration, can resume, dealing Donald Trump a setback in his ongoing effort to restrict the fledgling industry.

Work on the nearly completed project for Rhode Island and Connecticut has been paused since Aug. 22 when the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued a stop-work order for what it said were national security concerns. The Interior Department agency did not specify those concerns at the time. The cancellation produced a serious stumble for Danish wind giant Ørsted, and both the developer and the two states sued in federal courts.

Ørsted and its joint venture partner Skyborn Renewables sought a preliminary injunction in U.S. District Court that would allow them to move forward with the project.

At a hearing Monday, Judge Royce Lamberth said he considered how Revolution Wind has relied on its federal approval, the delays are costing $2.3 million a day, and if the project can’t meet deadlines, the entire enterprise could collapse. After December, the specialized ship needed to complete the project won’t be available until at least 2028, he said. More than 1,000 people have been working on the wind farm, which is 80% complete.

“There is no question in my mind of irreparable harm to the plaintiffs,” Lamberth said, as he granted the motion for the preliminary injunction. In his written ruling, he said Revolution Wind had “demonstrated likelihood of success on the merits” of its claim, adding that granting the injunction is in the public interest.

Interior Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Peace said the ruling means Revolution Wind “will be able to resume construction” while the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management “continues its investigation into possible impacts by the project to national security and prevention of other uses on the Outer Continental Shelf.”

The administration said in a court filing this month that while BOEM approved the wind farm, it stipulated that the developer continue to work with the U.S. Department of Defense to mitigate national security concerns. It said the Interior Department, to date, has not received any information that these concerns have been addressed.

Ørsted said Monday that construction will resume as soon as possible, and it will continue to seek to work collaboratively with the administration.

Nancy Pyne of the U.S. Sierra Club said the court ruling “reaffirms that Donald Trump and his administration’s attacks on clean energy are not only reckless and harmful to our communities, but they are also illegal.” Trump is trying to “kneecap” renewable energy “in favour of dirty and expensive fossil fuels,” she said.

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said Trump was elected with a mandate to “restore our country’s energy dominance—which includes prioritizing the most effective and reliable tools to power our country. This will not be the final say on the matter.”

On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to end the offshore wind industry as soon as he returned to the White House. He wants to boost production of fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas, and coal, which emit greenhouse gases that cause climate change, claiming that will bring the U.S. the lowest-cost energy and electricity of any nation in the world. So far, his attacks on the renewable energy sector have succeeded in driving up local energy costs.

His administration has stopped construction on major offshore wind farms, revoked wind energy permits and paused permitting, cancelled plans to use large areas of federal waters for new offshore wind development, and stopped $679 million in federal funding for a dozen offshore wind projects.

Last week, the administration moved to block a separate Massachusetts offshore wind farm. That was just days after the Interior Department asked a federal judge in Baltimore to cancel previous approval to build an offshore wind project in Maryland.

Revolution Wind is supposed to be Rhode Island’s and Connecticut’s first large offshore wind farm, capable of supplying power to more than 350,000 average homes, about 2.5% of the region’s electricity needs.

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong and Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, both Democrats, called the judge’s ruling a major win for workers and families, who need the project to stay on track so it can start to drive down unaffordable energy bills.

Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT) said a multi-billion-dollar project that is 80% complete and was fully permitted with input by the Pentagon is not a national security problem. The Interior Department “should take the hint and let the thousands of construction workers finish the job,” he said.

Previously, Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the attempted cancellation was “not about national security. It’s about the president’s insecurity.”

Ørsted began construction in 2024 about 24 kilometres south of the Rhode Island coast. It said in its complaint that about $5 billion had been spent or committed, and it expects more than $1 billion in costs if the project is cancelled. Rhode Island is already home to one small offshore wind project, the five-turbine Block Island Wind Farm.

Cover photo:  Kim Hansen/Wikimedia Commons