NY wind project back on after judge rules against Trump administration

A major offshore wind project in New York received a much-needed reprieve on Thursday after a federal judge gave developer Empire Wind the green light to resume construction. The company had warned that a work stoppage, ordered by the Trump administration, could have doomed the entire project in a matter of days.

The ruling came from District Judge Carl J. Nichols, a Trump appointee, who decided to let work continue while he weighs the final outcome of the case. In his decision, the judge took the government to task for failing to address Empire Wind's main arguments, including the point that the administration wasn't even following its own rules. David Schoetz, a spokesperson for Empire Wind's Norwegian parent company, Equinor, said they were pleased with the decision and would continue to work with authorities.

This is the second time in a week that a federal court has sided with a wind developer against the administration. The whole dispute kicked off just before Christmas, when the Trump administration abruptly halted five large offshore wind projects along the East Coast, citing national security risks. President Trump has been a vocal critic of offshore wind, recently calling wind farms "losers" and claiming they are unprofitable, destroy the scenery, and kill birds.

In response to the order, developers and states quickly filed lawsuits. These massive offshore wind farms are a cornerstone of the renewable energy plans for East Coast states, where there's little room for sprawling solar farms or land-based turbines. In another win for the industry, a judge recently allowed the Danish energy company Orsted to restart its Revolution Wind project, which will serve Rhode Island and Connecticut, finding the government's reasons for a total shutdown just weren't strong enough. That nearly finished project is expected to supply about 20% of Rhode Island's and 5% of Connecticut's electricity.

And the legal challenges are piling up. Orsted is also fighting the pause on its Sunrise Wind project in New York, and Dominion Energy Virginia plans to ask a judge on Friday to lift the order on its Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind farm. On Thursday, Vineyard Wind LLC, which is developing a project off the coast of Massachusetts, threw its hat in the ring by filing its own lawsuit in Boston.

However, not everyone is against the administration's move. Robin Shaffer, who leads Protect Our Coast New Jersey, supports the government's decision on the grounds of national security. He called on officials to appeal the recent court rulings and stop all construction until the appeals are resolved.

All this uncertainty is putting immense pressure on projects like Empire Wind. Already 60% complete, it's set to power over half a million homes. Equinor has warned that the project is already facing a precarious future due to significant financial setbacks and a shortage of the specialized ships needed for construction.

At a hearing on Wednesday, Judge Nichols noted that the government's primary security concern seemed to be with the operation of the turbines, not their construction. Stanley Woodward, Jr., the Associate Attorney General representing the government, pushed back on that idea. "I don't see how you can make this distinction," he argued, comparing it to a nuclear project with security flaws, where the government would object to both building it and turning it on.

For Molly Morris, the Equinor senior vice president in charge of Empire Wind, the mission remains the same. In an interview, she affirmed the company's commitment to finishing the project and delivering "a major, essential new source of power for New York."