Federal judge orders Revolution Wind construction to resume, rejecting Trump's freeze

The ruling handed Danish energy company Orsted a temporary legal victory on a project that is nearly 90% complete and costing more than $1.4 million per day in losses from the halt. Two more developers — Equinor and Dominion Energy Virginia — face hearings this week over the administration’s Dec. 22 order freezing five major East Coast offshore wind projects, with Equinor warning that its Empire Wind project faces “likely termination” if construction cannot resume by Friday.

A federal judge ruled Monday that a nearly complete offshore wind project serving Rhode Island and Connecticut can resume construction, dealing the Trump administration a legal setback on the same day President Donald Trump declared the United States “will not approve any windmills.”

Senior Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said the government failed to explain why it could not take action short of a complete construction halt on Revolution Wind while it considers national security concerns. He also said the administration did not provide sufficient reasoning for its change in position.

The ruling handed Danish energy company Orsted at least a temporary legal victory. Revolution Wind has received all of its federal permits and is nearly 90% complete. Orsted said it will resume construction to deliver affordable, reliable power to the Northeast.

A narrowing construction window

Attorneys for Revolution Wind told the court Monday that the stop-work order is costing the project more than $1.4 million per day. A specialized vessel has just enough time to install the remaining turbines before its contract expires at the site in February.

Attorney Janice Schneider, representing Revolution Wind, said the government had not shared information about its national security concerns with project experts who hold security clearances, or provided unclassified summaries.

“We do think that this court should be very skeptical of the government’s true motives here,” Schneider said, citing Trump’s public statements about wind power.

Department of Justice attorney Peter Torstensen argued that national security is paramount and that protecting against new risks identified in classified materials outweighs harm to the developers.

Trump’s opposition and two more hearings this week

Trump, speaking Friday while meeting with oil industry executives, described wind farms as “losers” that “lose money, 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.”

Three energy developers challenged the administration’s Dec. 22 order — which cited national security concerns without disclosing specifics — freezing five major East Coast offshore wind projects. Orsted, Norwegian company Equinor, and Dominion Energy Virginia each sued to vacate and set aside the order. Orsted’s hearing for Revolution Wind was Monday. Equinor’s hearing over its Empire Wind project in New York is Wednesday, and Dominion Energy Virginia’s hearing over Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind is Friday.

Empire Wind faces particular urgency: Equinor’s limited liability company said the project faces “likely termination” if construction cannot resume by Friday because the freeze disrupts a tightly scheduled construction timeline dependent on vessels with very limited availability.

“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,” said Molly Morris, Equinor’s senior vice president overseeing Empire Wind.

State officials respond

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said Monday’s ruling affirmed that law prevails over politics.

“The law takes precedent over the political whims of one man, and we will continue to fight to make sure that remains the case,” Neronha said.

Rhode Island and Connecticut had filed their own court request to preserve Revolution Wind. New York’s attorney general sued the Trump administration Friday over Empire Wind and Sunrise Wind, which are both Orsted projects.

The administration also froze Vineyard Wind in Massachusetts. The five frozen projects are Revolution Wind, Vineyard Wind, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, Sunrise Wind, and Empire Wind.

Prior pause and parallel rulings

Revolution Wind was previously paused in August for national security concerns. Judge Lamberth ruled in September that it could resume, citing irreparable harm to the developers and demonstrated likelihood of success on the merits of their claim. The project is being built by Orsted with Skyborn Renewables.

Monday’s offshore wind ruling came the same day a separate federal judge ruled that the Trump administration acted illegally when it canceled $7.6 billion in clean energy grants for projects in states that voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.

Hillary Bright, executive director of offshore wind advocacy group Turn Forward, said she is hopeful the remaining four stalled projects will also prevail in court and that the administration will come to understand “the immense benefits that these nearly complete power sources can bring to our nation’s energy and national security.”