A US federal judge has cleared Norwegian offshore wind developer Equinor to resume construction on its Empire Wind project off New York, dealing a further legal blow to the offshore wind pause imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration.
The ruling, issued by Carl Nichols of the US District Court in Washington, follows a decision earlier this week allowing Ørsted to restart work on an offshore wind project off the coast of Rhode Island. Both decisions temporarily lift the administration’s halt on offshore wind construction while broader legal challenges continue.
The administration ordered the suspension of Empire Wind and four other projects last month, citing concerns raised by the Department of the Interior. Government lawyers argued in court that the December 22 halt was justified by new classified information from the Department of Defense, which raised national security concerns related to potential radar interference.
Judge Nichols said those concerns did not outweigh the “irreparable harm” the project would face if construction were not allowed to resume. He warned that the suspension “threatens Empire Wind’s entire existence” by restricting access to specialised vessels required to complete the development.
Equinor has invested around $4 billion in Empire Wind, which is about 60% complete and is expected to supply electricity to approximately 500,000 homes in New York.
In a statement, Equinor said: “Empire Wind will now focus on safely restarting construction activities that were halted during the suspension period. In addition, the project will continue to engage with the US government to ensure the safe, secure and responsible execution of its operations.”
The judge said he would consider the merits of Equinor’s underlying lawsuit on an expedited basis.
Meanwhile, another offshore wind developer is seeking similar relief. A federal judge in Virginia is expected to consider a request on Friday from Dominion Energy to block the offshore wind pause as it applies to the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project.
President Trump has spent the past year opposing the expansion of offshore wind in federal waters, repeatedly criticising the technology as costly and unreliable.
