May 4, 2026 — President Trump’s effort to kill the nascent offshore wind industry is starting to resemble his fruitless effort to overturn his re-election loss in 2020, as a federal judge on Monday handed him a fifth consecutive loss in court challenges to the administration’s December order pausing construction of five wind farms along the East Coast.
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia granted the preliminary injunction sought by Sunrise Wind L.L.C., regarding the suspension order issued by the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. The move allows the construction of Sunrise Wind in federal waters about 30 miles east of Montauk Point to resume immediately while the underlying lawsuit challenging the administration’s order progresses.
The 924-megawatt wind farm’s export cable is to make landfall at Smith Point County Park in Shirley and is to generate electricity sufficient to power nearly 600,000 residences.
“Sunrise Wind will determine how it may be possible to work with the U.S. administration to achieve an expeditious and durable resolution,” a statement from Orsted, the developer, reads. “With safety as the top priority, the project will resume impacted construction work as soon as possible to deliver affordable, reliable power to the State of New York.”