{"id":84731,"date":"2026-01-27T18:43:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T23:43:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=84731"},"modified":"2026-01-27T18:43:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T23:43:11","slug":"us-offshore-wind-backlash-grows-as-empire-revolution-wind-sue-trump-admin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=84731","title":{"rendered":"Trump’s offshore wind pause just lost again \u2013 Vineyard Wind is back to work [update]"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\t\"Revolution

\n\t\t\t\tPhoto: \u00d8rsted\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A federal judge cleared Vineyard Wind to restart construction, adding to a growing list of offshore wind projects beating Trump\u2019s stop-work orders.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

January 27, 2026:<\/strong> A federal judge in Boston just handed the offshore wind industry another big win: the 806-megawatt Vineyard Wind, which is 95% complete and already sending power to the grid, can resume construction after US District Judge Brian Murphy granted a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration\u2019s stop-work order that froze the project in late December. Murphy found that Vineyard Wind showed a strong likelihood of success on the merits and would face irreparable harm if construction remained paused while the case proceeds.<\/p>\n

The decision marks the fourth federal court setback for the administration\u2019s offshore wind pause. Judges have now cleared Vineyard Wind, Revolution Wind, Empire Wind, and the massive Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project to resume construction, despite the Interior Department\u2019s national security justification for halting work.<\/p>\n

Judge Murphy said the Interior Department failed to \u201cadequately explain or justify the decision to halt construction.\u201d<\/p>\n

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January 15, 2026:<\/strong> US offshore wind continues to fight back against Trump\u2019s attacks. Following a ruling by a federal judge in Washington, DC, today allowing New York\u2019s Empire Wind to resume construction<\/a>, now Vineyard Wind in Massachusetts has filed for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary\u00a0Injunction, challenging the\u00a0suspension order issued by the Department of the Interior on December 22. <\/p>\n

A 50-50 joint venture between\u00a0Avangrid and\u00a0Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Vineyard Wind filed in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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January 12, 2026:<\/strong> Judge Royce Lamberth of the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled today that the US Department of the Interior\u2019s suspension order of Revolution Wind was \u201carbitrary and capricious,\u201d in violation of federal law, and that construction can resume.<\/p>\n

Lamberth stated that the Interior Department did not adequately explain how Revolution Wind posed a security risk.<\/p>\n

\u00d8rsted said it would resume construction as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

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January 2: <\/strong>On January 1, Revolution Wind filed a supplemental complaint in federal court in Washington, DC, challenging the Interior Department\u2019s December 22 lease suspension order. Today, Equinor\u2019s Empire Wind followed with its own lawsuit, also seeking a preliminary injunction that would allow construction to continue while the case plays out.<\/p>\n

The two lawsuits are helping to create a fast\u2011growing legal pileup over Interior\u2019s decision to halt offshore construction on five US wind farms currently under construction: Dominion Energy\u2019s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind; Vineyard Wind 1 in Massachusetts; Revolution Wind, which serves Rhode Island and Connecticut; and Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind in New York. Dominion was the first developer to sue, filing its complaint on December 23.<\/p>\n

Revolution Wind<\/h2>\n

Revolution Wind is a 50\/50 joint venture between \u00d8rsted and Global Infrastructure Partners\u2019 Skyborn Renewables. The developers argue that the lease suspension violates federal law and poses a major, immediate threat to a project that is nearly complete. Revolution Wind says it secured all required federal and state permits in 2023 after a review process that stretched more than nine years and included extensive consultation with the Department of Defense over national security and radar concerns. Those talks resulted in a formal mitigation agreement with the Department of Defense and the Department of the Air Force.<\/p>\n

Construction on Revolution Wind is about 87% complete. All offshore foundations are installed, 58 of 65 turbines are already in place, export cable installation is finished, and both offshore substations are installed. The project was on track to start generating power as early as January 2026, before the stop-work order was issued.<\/p>\n

Once online, Revolution Wind is expected to deliver electricity to more than 350,000 homes under 20\u2011year power purchase agreements with utilities in Rhode Island and Connecticut. The developers say halting the project risks higher power prices and lower grid reliability in the Northeast, especially as demand from data centers and AI continues to grow.<\/p>\n

Empire Wind<\/h2>\n

Empire Wind\u2019s lawsuit makes many of the same arguments. Equinor says the Interior order is unlawful and could trigger serious commercial and financing impacts if it remains in place. The company plans to seek a preliminary injunction so work can continue during what it describes as a critical phase of construction.<\/p>\n

Empire Wind has coordinated with federal agencies on national security reviews since signing its lease in 2017, including ongoing engagement with the Department of Defense and regular meetings with the US Coast Guard and other marine responders, according to the filing.<\/p>\n

The project is being developed under contract with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to supply a near\u2011term source of power for New York\u2019s grid. Once it\u2019s online, Empire Wind is expected to generate enough electricity to power about 500,000 homes.<\/p>\n

Empire Wind is more than 60% complete and represents a multibillion\u2011dollar investment in US energy infrastructure. Equinor has invested more than $4 billion to date, with $2.7 billion already drawn down under project financing. As of September 30, 2025, the project carried a gross book value of roughly $3.1 billion, including the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, whose redevelopment has supported nearly 4,000 construction jobs.<\/p>\n

\u00d8rsted\u2019s Sunrise Wind project has not yet filed suit but says it is evaluating all options, including legal action.<\/p>\n

Electrek\u2019s Take<\/h2>\n

These multi-billion-dollar projects spent nearly a decade clearing federal reviews, coordinating with the Department of Defense, and securing long\u2011term power contracts, only to be sucker-punched by vague claims about national security that agencies had already approved years ago. The result isn\u2019t just lawsuits; it\u2019s soaring costs for both companies and consumers, a shakier grid, and a clear message to investors that even fully permitted US energy projects aren\u2019t safe from political whiplash.<\/p>\n

Read more:<\/strong> Trump admin sued for halting work on the US\u2019s largest offshore wind farm<\/a><\/p>\n

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Photo: \u00d8rsted A federal judge cleared Vineyard Wind to restart construction, adding to a growing list of offshore wind projects beating Trump\u2019s stop-work orders. January 27, 2026: A federal judge in Boston just handed the offshore wind industry another big win: the 806-megawatt Vineyard Wind, which is 95% complete and already sending power to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8313,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-e-cars"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=84731"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84731\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=84731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=84731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=84731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}