US judge lets Danish firm resume Rhode Island offshore wind project halted by Trump

A federal judge on Monday cleared Danish offshore wind developer Ørsted to resume work on its nearly finished Revolution Wind project, which Donald Trump’s administration halted along with four other projects last month.The ruling by US district judge Royce Lamberth is a legal setback for Trump, who has sought to block expansion of offshore wind in federal waters.Ørsted’s Revolution Wind lawsuit is one of several filed by offshore wind companies and states seeking to reverse the interior department’s 22 December suspension of five offshore wind leases over what it said were national security concerns.There was no immediate comment from the interior department or Ørsted.Government attorneys had argued that the pause was justified by new, classified information regarding offshore wind’s impacts on national security revealed by the Pentagon in November.Lamberth rejected the administration’s argument that national security concerns justified halting the project, which he said would be irreparably harmed without an injunction.“You want to stop everything in place, costing them one-and-a-half million a day, while you decide what you want to do?” Lamberth, who was appointed by Ronald Reagan, asked justice department attorney Peter Torstensen during the hearing.Revolution Wind attorney Janice Schneider argued the government’s pause had violated federal laws governing administrative procedure and due process, adding that the developer had not been able to review the classified assessment on offshore wind.“This court should be very skeptical of the government’s true motives here,” Schneider said.Offshore wind developers including Ørsted have faced repeated disruptions to multibillion dollar projects under Trump, who has said he finds wind turbines ugly, expensive and inefficient.The project is about 87% complete and is expected to begin generating power this year, Ørsted has said.Revolution Wind LLC is a 50-50 joint venture between Ørsted and Global Infrastructure Partners’ Skyborn Renewables. Ørsted has also sued on behalf of its Sunrise Wind project off the coast of New York.Monday’s hearing was the first of three preliminary injunction hearings that will be held this week in lawsuits seeking to block the offshore wind pause. The others involve Equinor’s Empire Wind, off the coast of New York, and Dominion’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind facility.