Judge weighs Trump pause on Empire Wind offshore project in NY case

Judge scrutinizes Trump pause of Empire Wind as court weighs secret security rationale

A federal judge is considering whether to set aside an order from the Trump administration pausing construction on the Empire Wind offshore wind farm off New York, according to the Associated Press. The developer said the suspension could mean the death of the project, which is described as 60% complete.

District Judge Carl J. Nichols, an appointee of President Donald Trump, heard arguments in the case on Wednesday. Nichols planned to issue his decision Thursday, the AP reported.

The dispute centers on a Trump administration order that froze several large offshore wind projects on the East Coast days before Christmas, with the government citing national security concerns, AP said. Empire Wind is designed to power more than 500,000 homes, according to the report.

Equinor, the Norwegian company behind the project, told the court that Empire Wind was in jeopardy because of limited availability of specialized vessels as well as heavy financial losses, AP reported. The AP said the judge’s consideration includes the government’s national security reasoning, which was filed in secret for Nichols to review, and that the administration has not publicly revealed the specifics of those concerns.

At the hearing, Nichols said the government’s main security concern appeared to be about operation of the wind turbines, not construction, AP reported. The government later disagreed with that characterization, the report said.

Nichols also pressed the government on how it responded to Empire Wind’s court filings, according to AP. The AP reported that Nichols sharply questioned the government for not responding to key points raised by Empire Wind, including the project’s accusation that the administration did not follow proper procedures and acted arbitrarily.

During the hearing, Nichols said, “Your brief doesn’t even include the word arbitrary,” the AP reported. When the government said it was still contesting Empire Wind’s arguments on those points, Nichols responded, “This is not the way we do things,” according to the AP account.

Equinor’s hearing was the second of three legal challenges in the week, the AP said. On Monday, a judge ruled that a project serving Rhode Island and Connecticut could resume, according to the report.

The AP said this case is part of a broader set of offshore wind disputes in federal court. Monday’s ruling occurred in the same general federal-court context, and a separate hearing Monday for a project called Revolution Wind had already resulted in a decision allowing work to resume while the administration considered ways to mitigate national security concerns, the AP reported. Revolution Wind was described as nearly complete, and the hearing followed a Trump pause of related projects.

Equinor’s Molly Morris told the court that federal officials have not explained the national security concerns or how they could be mitigated, AP reported. Morris also said, “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,” according to the AP.

The report also described the project’s logistics and timing constraints. A specialized heavy lift vessel, Heerema’s Sleipnir, must begin lifting the topside to Empire Wind’s offshore substation because the Sleipnir was scheduled to depart by Feb. 1 for other commitments, Morris said, the AP reported. The AP said the topside weighs more than 3,000 tons and that there are few specialized offshore wind installation ships in the world. It also said Equinor’s limited liability company has spent about $4 billion to develop and construct the project.

After a prior hearing on the broader legal challenges, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said the pause was meant to protect the national security of the American people, AP reported. Rogers also said, “we look forward to ultimate victory on the issue,” according to the AP.

The AP reported that the Trump administration has targeted offshore wind since the president’s first days back in the White House, including calling wind farms “losers.” The report said the stance against offshore wind and renewable energy more broadly runs counter to dozens of other countries, and that experts say the world needs a major buildout of renewable electricity to address climate change.

In Britain, the report said the British government secured a record 8.4 gigawatts of offshore wind in Europe’s largest offshore wind auction. It said the auction was enough clean electricity to power more than 12 million homes and that the agreed offshore wind price is 40% cheaper than the cost of building and operating a new gas power plant.

Outside the court, the AP said New York’s attorney general sued the Trump administration on Friday over Empire Wind and Sunrise Wind. The administration had also paused leases for other projects, including Vineyard Wind, Revolution Wind, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, and two projects in New York: Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind, the AP reported.