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Judge Delays Dominion’s Offshore Wind Suit Awaiting U.S. Data

December 31, 2025 — The first showdown over the U.S. Department of the Interior’s efforts to stop the construction of five offshore wind farms is being delayed as a U.S. District Court in Virginia waits for data from the government. Dominion Energy’s efforts to gain a temporary restraining order to permit it to restart work were delayed, with the next hearing set for January 16.

Dominion Energy and its Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project is one of five that were ordered to stop offshore work by the Department of the Interior, which made vague claims about national security concerns due to radar clutter caused by the turbine blades and towers. The government cited new confidential data from studies by the Pentagon as the justification for the orders.

The five projects are all under construction, and in the case of Coastal Virginia and Vineyard Wind 1 in Massachusetts nearing completion. Dominion asserted in its court filing that the stop-work order is costing the company $5 million a day and said it could jeopardize completion of the wind farm on time in 2026 and the stability of the power grid, which needs more electricity. Coastal Virginia was expected to generate its first power in early 2026.

Read the full article at The Maritime Executive

Virginia offshore wind developer sues over Trump administration order halting projects

December 29, 2025 — The developers of a Virginia offshore wind project are asking a federal judge to block a Trump administration order that halted construction of their project, along with four others, over national security concerns.

Dominion Energy Virginia said in its lawsuit filed late Tuesday that the government’s order is “arbitrary and capricious” and unconstitutional. The Richmond-based company is developing Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, a project it says is essential to meet dramatically growing energy needs driven by dozens of new data centers.

The Interior Department did not detail the security concerns in blocking the five projects on Monday. In a letter to project developers, Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management set a 90-day period — and possibly longer — “to determine whether the national security threats posed by this project can be adequately mitigated.”

Read the full article at The Associated Press

Trump order halts offshore wind projects for at least 90 days

December 26, 2025 — The Trump administration has directed five large-scale wind projects under construction off the East Coast to suspend their activities for at least 90 days, according to letters from the Interior Department obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, which provide new details on the government’s move to pause the offshore ventures.

During the pause, the Interior Department will coordinate with project developers “to determine whether the national security threats posed by this project can be adequately mitigated,” the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said in a letter to project developers. The 90-day period can be extended if necessary, the ocean management agency said.

The administration announced Monday it was suspending the offshore wind projects because of national security concerns. Its announcement did not indicate whether the pause was limited, nor did it reveal specifics about the national security concerns.

It was the latest step by the Trump administration to hobble offshore wind in its push against renewable energy sources. It comes two weeks after a federal judge struck down President Donald Trump’s executive order blocking wind energy projects, calling it unlawful. The move angered local officials who have supported the projects and posed a new threat to offshore wind development that has faced increasing pressures since Trump took office.

Read the full article at PBS News

Trump Halts Revolution Wind Work for Second Time

December 23, 2025 — The Trump administration on Monday ordered a halt to construction on five East Coast offshore wind projects, including Rhode Island’s Revolution Wind.

The Interior Department said it is pausing all leases for large-scale offshore wind projects that are currently under construction, affecting the Vineyard Wind 1, Revolution Wind, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind 1 projects.

U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner of Rhode Island, a member of the House Natural Resources Committee, said Monday, “At a time when working people in Rhode Island are struggling with high costs on everything, Trump should not be canceling energy projects that are nearly ready to deliver reliable power to the grid at below-market rates and help lower costs.”

The Revolution Wind project, located 15 miles off Rhode Island’s shore and 85% complete, was expected to deliver enough electricity to the New England grid to power 350,000 homes, or 2.5% of the region’s electricity supply, beginning in 2026. Revolution Wind was projected to save Connecticut and Rhode Island ratepayers hundreds of millions of dollars over 20 years.

Christian Roselund, co-leader of Climate Action Rhode Island’s Yes to Wind campaign, said Monday, “Donald Trump is getting desperate. The Trump administration’s new attempt to freeze offshore wind projects under construction – after courts quickly threw out the last stop work order on Revolution Wind – shows again that he doesn’t understand what it means to be a U.S. president and that he wants instead to be a dictator.”

Read the full article at EcoRI

Trump team pauses wind projects, including one off Jersey Shore

December 23, 2025 — The Trump administration announced a pause on five offshore wind farms, including one off the coasts of New Jersey and New York, citing national security concerns.

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum announced on Dec. 22 that the pause would affect New York’s Empire Wind 1 power project, which will be about 19 miles offshore of Long Branch once complete. The pause also affects Vineyard Wind 1 off Massachusetts, Revolution Wind off Rhode Island and Connecticut, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind and Sunrise Wind southeast of Long Island.

The rotation of wind turbines and their reflective towers create radar interference called “clutter,” according to the Department of Interior. That interference obscures the radar detection of moving objects and creates the appearance of false objects near the wind farms, according to the department.

The pause will give wind farm developers and state and federal authorities time to address the projects’ risks to national security, Burgum said in a news release.

Read the full article at Asbury Park Press

The Trump administration pauses wind projects off New England, New York and Virginia

December 23, 2025 — The Trump administration said Monday it is pausing leases for five large-scale offshore wind projects under construction along the East Coast due to what it said were national security risks identified by the Pentagon.

The pause, effective immediately, is the latest step the administration has taken to hobble offshore wind in its push against renewable energy sources. It comes two weeks after a federal judge struck down President Donald Trump’s executive order blocking wind energy projects, calling it unlawful.

The administration said the pause will give the Interior Department, which oversees offshore wind, time to work with the Defense Department and other agencies to assess the possible ways to mitigate any security risks posed by the projects.

“The prime duty of the United States government is to protect the American people,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement. “Today’s action addresses emerging national security risks, including the rapid evolution of the relevant adversary technologies, and the vulnerabilities created by large-scale offshore wind projects with proximity near our east coast population centers.”

The statement did not detail the national security risks.

Wind proponents slammed the move, saying it was another blow by the administration against clean energy.

The administration said leases are paused for the Vineyard Wind project under construction in Massachusetts, Revolution Wind in Rhode Island and Connecticut, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, and two projects in New York: Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind.

Read the full article at KDLG

Long Island Wind Farms Respond to Federal Suspension

December 23, 2025 — Two of the five offshore wind farms whose leases were paused by the Trump administration on Monday are designed to power Long Island’s electric grid, and wind farm companies here have begun to respond to the news.

The U.S. Department of the Interior said Monday it was “pausing” the leases for 90 days due to what it described as “national security risks identified by the Department of War in recently completed classified reports.”

“Today’s action addresses emerging national security risks, including the rapid evolution of the relevant adversary technologies, and the vulnerabilities created by large-scale offshore wind projects with proximity near our East Coast population centers,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum in a statement Monday. “The Trump administration will always prioritize the security of the American people.”

On Long Island, the Danish wind farm giant Ørsted is in the middle of construction for Sunrise Wind, a 924 megawatt, 84-turbine offshore wind farm about 30 miles off the coast of Montauk. Its transmission cable is slated to come ashore at Smith Point County Park, where it is being installed down William Floyd Parkway and a series of other roads to a substation in Holbrook.

Read the full article at the East End Beacon

 

Judge denies US Wind request to halt Trump administration attacks

December 18, 2025 — A federal judge has declined to issue an injunction that would have protected US Wind from what it says are Trump administration attempts to kill its planned wind farm off Ocean City, for which it already has permits.

U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher in Baltimore noted in her decision — handed down Tuesday — that US Wind technically could move forward with constructing its wind farm off of Delmarva.

Even though President Donald Trump’s (R) administration has announced its intention to reevaluate the crucial Construction and Operations Plan (COP) approval issued to US Wind during the waning days of President Joe Biden’s (D) administration, it has not actually revoked the permit, Gallagher wrote in her ruling.

In a previous decision, Gallagher preliminarily rejected a request from the Trump administration to remand the permit back to the U.S. Department of the Interior for reconsideration. Gallagher ruled that the government needed to present more information in order for her to make a ruling. But she allowed the department to carry on with any “internal review” of the permit, as desired.

Read the full article at Maryland Matters

Court Denies Motion for Injunction of BOEM’s Review of Maryland COP

December 17, 2025 — A federal court judge in Maryland has denied a request by offshore wind developer US Wind for a preliminary injunction against the federal government in its ongoing fight to save its planned offshore wind project off Ocean City, Maryland. It is the latest twist in the ongoing court battle over Maryland’s first offshore wind project and the broader battle against the Trump administration’s efforts to derail the industry and revoke existing permits.

US Wind, which is a partnership between investment firm Apollo Global Management and Italy’s Renexia, is planning a large wind farm off the Maryland coast that would include 114 wind turbines. The company completed its federal-level reviews, receiving approval of its Construction and Operation Plan in December 2024, but has faced local opposition and the new administration’s declared goal to end offshore wind energy.

The company has found itself caught up in multiple legal battles, including a jurisdictional dispute between the federal and state environmental protection authorities. Ocean City, Maryland, has also sued the federal government, challenging the approval of the wind farm’s plans.

Read the full article at The Maritime Executive

MASSACHUSSETS: Nantucket reaches deal on Vineyard Wind transparency, response

December 16, 2025 — After months of pressure from local leaders, Nantucket has won new guarantees from Vineyard Wind, securing an agreement that sets clearer rules for communication, public transparency, and emergency response as the offshore wind project progresses toward full operations.

The agreement was formally announced on Dec. 11.

Town leaders first raised the issue publicly in July, when they called for more consistent and transparent information about the project’s daily activities and a more reliable process for handling emergencies at sea. They said the town had struggled to get quick, detailed answers, and they wanted a system that let both officials and residents track what the project was doing.

Select Board member Brooke Mohr, who led the island delegation in the talks, said the push centered on protecting the island’s natural and economic landscape.

Many issues arose in the aftermath of the catastrophic failure of a blade on turbine AW-38 in July 2024, which sent tons of debris crashing into the ocean and then washing up on Nantucket’s south shore and elsewhere throughout the region. Others are related to the light pollution from the turbine field.

“Transparency and predictability are essential to protect our world-renowned coastline, fisheries, night skies, and heritage tourism economy,” she said.

Nantucket is listed as a national historic landmark.

The company is constructing its 62-turbine, 800- megawatt Vineyard Wind 1 project — a joint venture of Avangrid Renewables LLC and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners — in waters starting about 15 miles southwest of Nantucket. The company earlier this month reported the project is progressing and has a current operational capacity of more than 400 megawatts.

Read the full article at Dredge Wire