At a Glance
- A federal judge ordered work to resume on Revolution Wind, an offshore wind farm for Rhode Island and Connecticut.
- The project is 90% complete and weeks from delivering power.
- The Trump administration froze five East Coast wind projects citing undisclosed national security concerns.
- Why it matters: The ruling temporarily protects thousands of jobs and billions in clean-energy investment as the White House tries to halt all new offshore wind development.
A federal judge ruled Monday that construction on Revolution Wind-the offshore wind farm slated to power Rhode Island and Connecticut-can proceed, dealing a setback to the Trump administration’s effort to shut down new ocean-based wind projects.
Senior Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said the government failed to justify a full construction halt while it studies possible national security fixes. He also found the administration offered too little explanation for reversing its earlier support.
Revolution Wind has received every required federal permit and is nearly 90% built. Developer Orsted and partner Skyborn Renewables expected to begin feeding electricity into the regional grid within weeks.
The Administration’s Freeze
On Dec. 22 the White House ordered work stopped on five large offshore wind developments:
- Revolution Wind (Rhode Island/Connecticut)
- Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (Virginia)
- Empire Wind (New York)
- Sunrise Wind (New York)
- Vineyard Wind (Massachusetts)
Officials cited classified national-security materials but have not detailed the threats publicly. President Trump, while meeting oil executives last week, called wind farms “losers” that “destroy the landscape and kill birds.”
“I’ve told my people we will not approve windmills,” Trump said. “Maybe we get forced to do something because some stupid person in the Biden administration agreed to do something years ago. We will not approve any windmills in this country.”
Legal Challenges Mount
Three developers sued to vacate the freeze:
- Orsted-Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind
- Equinor-Empire Wind
- Dominion Energy Virginia-Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind
Orsted’s hearing came first. Attorney Janice Schneider told Judge Lamberth that the stop-work order arrived at the worst possible moment: the specialized turbine-installation vessel on site has only a narrow February window before its contract ends, and every idle day costs the project $1.4 million.
Schneider added that the government has refused to share even unclassified summaries of its security concerns with company experts who hold clearances.
“We do think that this court should be very skeptical of the government’s true motives here,” she said.
Department of Justice attorney Peter Torstensen countered that protecting against newly identified risks in classified briefings outweighs any developer losses.
Lamberth disagreed, noting the government offered no reason partial safeguards could not be imposed while construction continues.
Timeline of Key Events
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Aug. 22, 2024 | Bureau of Ocean Energy Management pauses Revolution Wind for national-security review |
| Sept. 23, 2024 | Judge Lamberth lifts pause, allowing work to resume |
| Dec. 22, 2024 | Trump administration widens freeze to five projects |
| Jan. 6, 2025 | Lamberth again allows Revolution Wind construction |
What’s at Stake for Each Project
- Revolution Wind – 704 MW, powers 350,000 homes, thousands of construction jobs on the line
- Empire Wind – Equinor warns of “likely termination” if crews cannot restart by this Friday; vessels booked years in advance
- Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind – Dominion calls the order “arbitrary and capricious,” argues it is unconstitutional
New York’s attorney general filed a separate suit Friday to protect Empire Wind and Sunrise Wind. Equinor’s hearing is Wednesday; Dominion’s is Friday.
Policy Reversal
The Biden administration had accelerated offshore wind as a cornerstone of its climate agenda. Trump, beginning with a flurry of Day-One executive orders, is shifting federal policy toward oil, gas and coal. Offshore wind lease sales have been paused industry-wide.
Molly Morris, Equinor’s senior vice president for Empire Wind, said, “I would like to think that offshore wind is, and will continue to be, part of an all-of-the-above energy solution, which our country desperately needs.”
Key Takeaways
- Monday’s ruling applies only to Revolution Wind; four other frozen projects await their own court dates
- Judge Lamberth signaled he may look unfavorably on blanket stop-work orders lacking detailed justification
- With turbine-installation ships booked years ahead, any extended delay could scrap entire projects regardless of final court outcomes
