A federal judge ruled on Monday that work can resume on Revolution Wind, a large and nearly complete offshore wind farm near Rhode Island. Construction on the project had been since Aug. 22, when the Trump administration issued a stop-work order.
The order represents a rare 鈥� and, at least for now, temporary 鈥� win for the offshore wind industry, which has been a frequent target of the Trump administration.
In issuing a preliminary injunction in favor of Revolution, Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said the construction pause represented the 鈥渉eight of arbitrary and capricious action.鈥� In explaining his decision, the judge repeatedly said that while the government cited potential national security concerns related to the project, it failed to 鈥渕ake any factual findings or cite any reasons鈥� why the project needed to be paused.
Furthermore, Lamberth noted that the project鈥檚 developer, 脴rsted, was losing at least $2.3 million a day, and that hundreds of people were out of work while the project was in limbo.
鈥淭here is no question in my mind of irreparable harm to the plaintiffs,鈥� he said.
In granting the injunction, Lamberth didn鈥檛 make a final ruling in the case; the over the stop-work order will continue, but in the meantime, construction can restart.
In a statement, 脴rsted said it would 鈥渞esume impacted construction work as soon as possible, with safety as the top priority.鈥�
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which issued the stop-work order, could challenge the injunction. In a statement, the agency said it will continue 鈥渋ts investigation into possible impacts by the project to national security and prevention of other uses on the Outer Continental Shelf.鈥�
Revolution Wind is a 65-turbine project that鈥檚 slated to deliver 704 megawatts of power to Rhode Island and 黑料吃瓜网 starting next year 鈥� enough electricity to power about 350,000 homes. The project received its final federal permits in 2023 and has been staging the wind farm from in New London, 黑料吃瓜网.
At the time of the stop-work order, the company had spent around $5 billion on the project and construction was 80% complete.
黑料吃瓜网 Gov. Ned Lamont praised the judge鈥檚 decision, calling it 鈥済ood news on behalf of consumers.鈥� Once the project comes online, it鈥檚 expected to save ratepayers in the state about $500 million annually.
鈥淚f you want to talk about the birds and the fish and national security, we can do that,鈥� Lamont added. 鈥淏ut in the meantime, let鈥檚 get back to work.鈥�
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha also applauded the injunction, writing in a statement that the "President cannot cancel clean energy projects just because he believes doing so is politically expedient for him."
In a separate lawsuit, Rhode Island and 黑料吃瓜网 sued the Trump administration over the stop-work order.
"What we're looking for is to get this project up and running again as quickly as possible 鈥� get those workers and ships back out to sea to get the last 20% of this project done, and to bring this clean, reliable, over time inexpensive energy online to meet our energy needs up here in New England," Neronha said.
In New London, where daily construction work at State Pier has come to a standstill since the stop-work order was issued, Mayor Mike Passero said his reaction to the news was "exuberance."
"It's been a long month and we're so close to the end of this project," he said. "We're just months away from turning on the spigot, so it's just a relief."
Passero said 脴rsted still has its construction workforce in place, so work should resume quickly.
"To be perfectly honest, I was a little concerned about irreparable harm," he added. But he now expects the project will be done before the lawsuit over the stop-work order wraps up.
Across New England, wind advocates outside of government also celebrated news of the injunction.
鈥淭his ruling confirms what we鈥檝e known all along 鈥� that the Trump administration鈥檚 attempt to stop Revolution Wind is not only a violation of the law but a dramatic overreach,鈥� said Kate Sinding Daly, senior vice president for law and policy at Conservation Law Foundation. 鈥淲e applaud the court for upholding the rule of law and rejecting a reckless attempt to sabotage clean energy progress that will slash bills and toxic pollution.鈥�
Liz Burdock, chief executive officer of Oceanic Network, a nonprofit that advocates for offshore wind, called the injunction 鈥渨elcome news for the hundreds of skilled workers who can now return to their jobs while the legal process continues.鈥�
Revolution Wind, she added, 鈥渋s critical to securing New England鈥檚 electric grid, lowering energy costs for businesses and families, strengthening the local supply chain, and achieving energy independence.鈥�
Revolution Wind is just one of a handful of large offshore wind projects under construction along the Atlantic Coast. Several New England states from offshore wind projects to provide a critical source of power, create jobs and spur economic development.
Under the Biden administration, these states, and the young industry, had a lot of support. But President Trump is a longtime critic of offshore wind, and his administration has launched a multi-agency effort to stop projects at all phases of development.
Just last week, the administration moved to revoke key permits for two previously-approved wind projects: SouthCoast Wind near Massachusetts and US Wind near Maryland. In court documents, the administration has announced its intention to revoke permits for another Massachusetts project, New England Wind, sometime in the next few weeks.
WSHU's Ebong Udoma, 黑料吃瓜网's 脕ine Pennello and Ben Berke of the Public's Radio contributed reporting.
This article was originally published on via the New England News Collaborative.
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