The case is one of three legal challenges this week to the administration’s late-December pause on five East Coast offshore wind projects, which the government has justified on national security grounds it has not disclosed publicly. Equinor, the Norwegian energy company behind the Empire Wind project, warned the freeze could kill a project that is 60% complete and has drawn roughly $4 billion in investment.
A federal district judge appointed by President Donald Trump sharply questioned the administration’s legal justification for pausing construction on a major offshore wind farm near New York on Wednesday, telling government attorneys their court briefs failed to address key procedural challenges raised by the project’s developer.
District Judge Carl J. Nichols, hearing the case in federal court in Washington, focused on the government’s failure to respond to Equinor’s argument that the administration acted arbitrarily and without following required procedures. “Your brief doesn’t even include the word arbitrary,” Nichols told government lawyers, according to the Associated Press. When the government said it was still contesting those arguments, Nichols responded, “This is not the way we do things.” He said he planned to issue his ruling Thursday.
The project at stake
The case centers on Empire Wind, a project off the coast of New York that is 60% complete and designed to power more than 500,000 homes. Norwegian energy company Equinor, which has spent about $4 billion developing the project, said the construction freeze could mean its death given the limited availability of specialized installation vessels and the heavy financial losses from delay.
“We have been clear and consistent that we are ready to address any additional security concerns that were not already addressed through our lengthy engagement with various defense agencies,” said Molly Morris, Equinor’s senior vice president overseeing Empire Wind.
Equinor faces a hard deadline: a specialized heavy-lift vessel, Heerema’s Sleipnir, must begin lifting a more-than-3,000-ton offshore substation component by February 1, when it is scheduled to depart for other commitments. Few vessels of its type exist worldwide, Equinor said. Morris said federal officials have given the company no explanation of the national security concerns or how to address them.
The national security argument
The Trump administration paused construction on five major East Coast offshore wind projects days before Christmas, citing national security concerns. The government filed its security rationale with Nichols under seal and has not publicly disclosed the specifics.
Nichols observed during the hearing that the government’s main security concern appeared to be over operation of the wind turbines rather than construction — a point the government later disputed, according to AP. At least one expert said the projects were permitted following years of careful review that included the Department of Defense, AP reported.
The week’s legal landscape
Wednesday’s hearing was the second of three legal challenges this week to the administration’s offshore wind freeze. On Monday, a federal judge ordered work on Revolution Wind — a project serving Rhode Island and Connecticut developed by Danish energy company Orsted — to resume while the administration considers ways to address its national security concerns. Revolution Wind is nearly complete.
After that ruling, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said the construction pause is meant to protect the national security of the American people, and “we look forward to ultimate victory on the issue.”
The five frozen projects are Vineyard Wind off Massachusetts, Revolution Wind, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, and two New York projects: Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind. New York’s attorney general sued the Trump administration on Friday over Empire Wind and Sunrise Wind.
Trump has targeted offshore wind from his return to the White House, most recently calling wind farms “losers” that lose money, destroy the landscape and kill birds. The administration’s stance runs counter to dozens of other countries; experts say a major buildout of renewable electricity is needed to address climate change.