US Judge Clears Way for Denmark's Ørsted to Rebuild Damaged US Offshore Wind Project Halted by Trump Administration.
A federal judge in Washington D.C. has given a significant boost to Danish offshore wind developer Ørsted, allowing it to resume work on its nearly complete Revolution Wind project off the coast of Rhode Island. The decision came as a setback for former President Donald Trump's administration, which had halted five offshore wind projects, citing national security concerns.
In December, the Interior Department suspended the leases for the projects, citing new information about potential impacts on national security that was revealed by the Pentagon in November. However, US District Judge Royce Lamberth rejected this argument, stating that the pause would irreparably harm Ørsted's project without an injunction.
The judge questioned how the government could justify halting a nearly completed $1.5 billion project, which is expected to begin generating power later this year. "You want to stop everything in place, costing them one-and-a-half million a day, while you decide what you want to do?" Lamberth asked during the hearing.
Ørsted's lawyer, Janice Schneider, argued that the government's actions had violated federal laws governing administrative procedure and due process, adding that Ørsted had not been able to review the classified assessment on offshore wind. The judge seemed skeptical of the government's true motives, saying "This court should be very skeptical of the government's true motives here."
The decision is a significant win for Ørsted and other offshore wind developers, who have faced repeated disruptions to their multibillion-dollar projects under Trump. The project is one of several lawsuits that Ørsted has filed against the administration, including a lawsuit on behalf of its Sunrise Wind project off the coast of New York.
The ruling comes as part of a series of preliminary injunction hearings this week, which will determine whether the offshore wind pause will be lifted for three other projects: Equinor's Empire Wind and Dominion's Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind facility.
A federal judge in Washington D.C. has given a significant boost to Danish offshore wind developer Ørsted, allowing it to resume work on its nearly complete Revolution Wind project off the coast of Rhode Island. The decision came as a setback for former President Donald Trump's administration, which had halted five offshore wind projects, citing national security concerns.
In December, the Interior Department suspended the leases for the projects, citing new information about potential impacts on national security that was revealed by the Pentagon in November. However, US District Judge Royce Lamberth rejected this argument, stating that the pause would irreparably harm Ørsted's project without an injunction.
The judge questioned how the government could justify halting a nearly completed $1.5 billion project, which is expected to begin generating power later this year. "You want to stop everything in place, costing them one-and-a-half million a day, while you decide what you want to do?" Lamberth asked during the hearing.
Ørsted's lawyer, Janice Schneider, argued that the government's actions had violated federal laws governing administrative procedure and due process, adding that Ørsted had not been able to review the classified assessment on offshore wind. The judge seemed skeptical of the government's true motives, saying "This court should be very skeptical of the government's true motives here."
The decision is a significant win for Ørsted and other offshore wind developers, who have faced repeated disruptions to their multibillion-dollar projects under Trump. The project is one of several lawsuits that Ørsted has filed against the administration, including a lawsuit on behalf of its Sunrise Wind project off the coast of New York.
The ruling comes as part of a series of preliminary injunction hearings this week, which will determine whether the offshore wind pause will be lifted for three other projects: Equinor's Empire Wind and Dominion's Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind facility.
... what's with all these national security concerns over offshore wind farms? I've been following this story, and it seems like the government is just trying to delay progress on renewable energy. It's crazy! 
The fact that Ørsted was halted for nearly a year due to Trump's admin basically means we're losing out on $1.5 billion in clean energy potential every day 
I'm not saying Ørsted didn't have a right to protest, but come on! You can't just halt a project because of some hypothetical security risk 
? i mean, trump's admin was all like national security concerns but the judge is like "um no" 
it's just so crazy how they suspended the leases and then stopped everything from happening. i feel for Ørsted's lawyer, janice schneider - she's got some serious skills to argue that this whole thing is a bunch of hooey 
the government's motives are totally questionable, imo... the judge seemed like she was trying to figure out what's really going on behind the scenes 
anyway, this decision is def a win for Ørsted and all the other offshore wind devs who've been dealing with these weird delays 
! The judge's decision is totally fair imo, it makes so much sense that the government can't just halt a $1.5 billion project without any proof 
. I mean, how could they justify stopping everything and costing Ørsted millions every day? It's like, come on, don't be that person 
. And tbh, I think the judge nailed it when he said to be skeptical of the government's true motives 
finally some sense coming from that US judiciary. I mean, what's with these national security concerns? A $1.5 billion project that's almost done and you're just gonna halt it because of...what? Fear of windmills 
? The judge called it out - this is a clear case of the government overstepping its bounds.
. and honestly it feels like a big win for the entire industry, knowing that projects like this aren't being held up by politics like they were back in the day 
?! I've been following this story since Trump blocked it back in 2022, and it's been so frustrating watching Ørsted struggle 
. But now, thanks to Judge Royce Lamberth 
, Ørsted can finally get back to work on the $1.5 billion Revolution Wind project 
. I mean, who needs national security when we need clean energy, right? 
. The judge basically said the government was being super sketchy with its reasons for blocking the project 
. Now Ørsted can just focus on getting that power online later this year 
. it's not just Ørsted that's affected btw, other devs have been dealing with similar issues under trumps reign 