A US judge ruled that a wind farm being developed by Orsted A/S off New York’s Long Island can resume work halted by the federal government, the fifth such court win for an industry President Donald Trump has sought to cripple.
The Sunrise Wind project, which was losing $2.5 million a day while it sat idle, would “be irreparably harmed” unless work was allowed to continue during the legal fight, US District Judge Royce C. Lamberth concluded Monday. Orsted said it has spent $7 billion on the development, which is 45% complete.
Lamberth granted a request by Denmark-based Orsted for a preliminary injunction blocking the stop-work order, saying the Trump administration’s decision was likely arbitrary and capricious. Last month, the same Washington-based judge allowed Orsted to resume development of its Revolution Wind project off the coast of Rhode Island.
Orsted’s wind farms and three others off the US East Coast were halted Dec. 22 by the Interior Department, which claimed the projects posed national security risks it didn’t disclose. All five, including those owned by Dominion Energy Inc. and Equinor ASA, have prevailed in legal challenges so far.
Despite the setbacks, Trump’s attacks have led to a significant pullback in US offshore development plans that had been promoted by the Biden administration, which sought to bring more than 30 gigawatts of capacity online by 2030. Only about one-fifth of that amount is now likely to be built, according to BloombergNEF.
Once completed next year, Sunrise Wind’s turbines would deliver enough energy to power more than 600,000 homes in New York.
Developers of offshore wind projects said they’ve lost millions of dollars due to the work stoppages and delays.
Sunrise Wind v Burgum, 26-cv-28, US District Court, District of Columbia .
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