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Judge Strikes Down Trump’s Latest Effort to Stop Offshore Wind Project

January 13, 2026 — A federal judge on Monday ruled that construction could resume on a $6.2 billion wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island, striking down the Trump administration’s decision last month to halt work on the Revolution Wind project.

Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the Interior Department’s suspension order was “arbitrary and capricious” in violation of federal law.

Revolution Wind is one of five offshore wind projects under construction along the East Coast that were ordered to stop work last month by the Trump administration, which cited unspecified national security concerns. Several states, as well as developers of four of the projects, have challenged the move in court. The case involving Revolution Wind was the first complaint to be heard.

The decision is a temporary victory for Revolution Wind and the offshore wind industry, which has been roiled by the Trump administration’s efforts to block offshore wind farms that had received permits under the Biden administration. Orsted, the Danish energy giant that is building Revolution Wind, can now continue with construction as litigation it has filed against the Trump administration proceeds.

Read the full article at The New York Times

Offshore wind developer prevails in U.S. court as Trump calls wind farms ‘losers’

January 13, 2026 — A federal judge ruled Monday that work on a major offshore wind farm for Rhode Island and Connecticut can resume, handing the industry at least a temporary victory as President Trump seeks to shut it down.

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

Revolution Wind has received all of its federal permits and is nearly 90% complete to provide power for Rhode Island and Connecticut.

Trump says his goal is to not let any “windmills” be built. Three energy developers are challenging the administration’s freeze of their offshore wind projects in the federal courts this week.

Danish energy company Orsted, Norwegian company Equinor, and Dominion Energy Virginia each sued to ask the courts to vacate and set aside the administration’s Dec. 22 order to freeze five big projects on the East Coast over national security concerns. Orsted’s hearing was first on its Revolution Wind project. Orsted said it will soon resume construction to deliver affordable, reliable power to the Northeast.

Read the full article at The Associated Press

Another reprieve for Revolution Wind

January 13, 2026 — For the second time a federal court on Monday turned back the Trump administration’s attempt to shut down the Revolution Wind energy project off southern New England, handing wind power developers another temporary reprieve in an on-again, off-again legal battle.

 U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ruled developer Ørsted “would be irreparably harmed” unless work on the almost 90 percent complete turbine array is allowed to continue, while the company disputes the government’s Dec. 22 claim that “national security” required an immediate stop-work order.

 The judge’s temporary injunction mirrors an earlier ruling he issued in September a few weeks after the administration attempted then to halt Revolution Wind. Of the Dec. 22 order, Judge Lamberth wrote, the decision appeared “arbitrary and capricious” and violating the Administrative Procedure Act that requires detailed rationale for rule changes and a public comment period.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

Legal tests await Trump’s offshore energy agenda in 2026

January 13, 2026 — From stalled offshore wind turbines along the Eastern Seaboard to an oil drilling boom off the Gulf Coast, the Trump administration’s moves to shake up the energy sector are getting their day in court in 2026.

This year, federal judges will decide the legality of the Trump team’s reversals of advances in the offshore wind industry and its push to open more of the nation’s waters to fossil fuel development. The court battles are expected to help shape the U.S. energy mix for decades to come.

“The next 12 months are going to be extraordinarily important for the nation’s long-term protection of the environment and commitment to renewable energy,” said Basil Seggos, partner and senior policy director at the law firm Foley Hoag.

Read the full article at E&E News

New York attorney general sues Trump administration over offshore wind project freeze

January 12, 2026 — New York’s attorney general sued the Trump administration on Friday over its decision to halt two major offshore wind projects expected to power more than 1 million homes in the state.

State Attorney General Letitia James said in legal challenges filed in federal court in Washington that the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Dec. 22 order suspending construction on the projects off Long Island, citing national security concerns, was arbitrary and unwarranted.

The Democrat said Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind projects had already cleared more than a decade of security and safety reviews by federal, state and local authorities. She said pausing them now threatens New York’s economy and energy grid, and she asked the court to intervene.

“New Yorkers deserve clean, reliable energy, good-paying jobs, and a government that follows the law,” James said in a statement. “This reckless decision puts workers, families, and our climate goals at risk.”

Read the full article at the the Associated Press

Trump’s offshore wind project freeze draws lawsuits from states and developers

January 8, 2026 — Offshore wind developers affected by the Trump administration’s freeze of five big projects on the East Coast are fighting back in court, with one developer saying its project will likely be terminated if they can’t resume by the end of next week.

Norwegian company Equinor and the Danish energy company Orsted are the latest to sue, with the limited liability companies for their projects filing civil suits late Tuesday. Connecticut and Rhode Island filed their own request on Monday seeking a preliminary injunction for a third project.

The administration announced Dec. 22 it was suspending leases for at least 90 days on the five offshore wind projects because of national security concerns. Its announcement did not reveal specifics about those concerns.

President Donald Trump has been hostile to renewable energy technologies that produce electricity cleanly, particularly offshore wind, and has instead prioritized oil, coal and natural gas that emit carbon pollution when burned.

Read the full article at the Associated Press

How offshore wind permits handled DOD concerns before Interior’s pause

January 6, 2026 — Citing classified reports, the Interior Department last month shut down construction of five offshore wind projects off the East Coast.

A Department of Defense classified assessment, completed in November, contained information about “the rapid evolution of relevant adversary technologies and the resulting direct impacts to national security from offshore wind projects,” according to copies of the similar letters sent to each project’s owner.

“These impacts are heightened by the projects’ sensitive location on the East Coast and the potential to cause serious, immediate, and irreparable harm to our great nation,” said the letters, which were sent by Matthew Giacona, acting director at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

Read the full article at E&E News

Offshore Wind Projects Challenge Trump Administration’s Order to Stop Work

January 5, 2026 — Developers of five offshore wind farms that were ordered last week by the Trump administration to halt construction are suing to restart work on at least three of the projects.

The Interior Department on Dec. 22 ordered companies to halt work on five wind farms in various stages of construction along the East Coast. They were: Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind, both off the coast of New York; Revolution Wind off Rhode Island and Connecticut; Vineyard Wind 1 off the coast of Massachusetts; and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind off Virginia.

The administration cited unspecified national security concerns about the projects.

On Thursday, Orsted, the Danish energy giant that is building Revolution Wind, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. On Friday Equinor, the developer of Empire Wind, did the same.

Both companies said they are seeking preliminary injunctions that would allow construction to continue as the litigation proceeds. Orsted is also building Sunrise Wind and said it was considering a similar legal challenge to restart work on that project, too.

Read the full article at The New York Times

 

Trump freezes East Coast offshore wind projects – again

January 5, 2026 — U.S. President Donald Trump has again frozen development on offshore wind projects on the East Coast, just weeks after a federal judge ruled that his initial attempt to pause development was “arbitrary and capricious.”

“President Trump is prioritizing American fishermen, working waterfronts, and the United States’ national security by pausing offshore wind projects,” New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) Chairman and Chief Strategist Dustin Delano said in response. “These unreliable energy sources are an economic, ecological, and national security threat. Safeguarding the United States includes responsible ocean management, and as stewards of the sea, we’re thankful for this decision to halt offshore wind projects.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Orsted files legal challenge over Trump’s halt to $5 billion offshore wind project

January 3, 2025 — Danish renewables giant Orsted, the world’s largest developer of offshore wind farms, said on Friday that it had launched legal action against the Trump administration over the suspension of its $5 billion Revolution Wind project.

Shares of the Copenhagen-listed company rose more than 4% on the news, putting the stock among the top performers of the pan-European Stoxx 600 index.

Orsted said in a statement that it would seek a court injunction against the U.S. government’s decision to halt its Revolution Wind project, located about 15 miles south of the Rhode Island coast.

Read the full article at CNBC