Meghan Lapp, Seafreeze Fisheries liaison, discusses the Trump administration’s efforts to shut down the offshore wind industry in “The Bottom Line.”
A federal judge has overturned an Interior Department order halting construction of a $6.2 billion offshore wind project. Danish offshore wind developer Orsted will now be able to resume work on its Revolution Wing project.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth represents a legal setback for the Trump administration, which sought to block the expansion of offshore wind projects in federal waters. This is the second time in four months that the Revolution Wind project has scored a victory over the federal government, according to Reuters.
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Orsted explains on its website that “Revolution Wind is a 704 megawatt (MW) offshore wind farm located in federal waters 15 miles south of the Rhode Island coast, 32 miles southeast of the Connecticut coast, and 12 miles southwest of Martha’s Vineyard. » The company says the project, which broke ground in 2023, will be able to provide clean energy to more than 350,000 homes in Rhode Island and Connecticut when fully operational, making it the nation’s first multi-state offshore wind project.
“Revolution Wind will determine how best to work with the U.S. administration to achieve a timely and lasting resolution,” Orsted said in a statement after Lamberth granted the preliminary injunction. “The project will resume construction works as soon as possible, with safety as the top priority, and to provide reliable and affordable energy to the North East.”
Wind turbine foundation components at the Revolution Wind construction center at the Port of Providence in Providence, Rhode Island, June 13, 2024. (Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
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Government lawyers reportedly argued that the pause was justified by new information regarding national security impacts that the War Department had revealed to the Interior Ministry in November, Reuters reported. The outlet said Lamberth rejected the argument and said the project would suffer irreparable harm without the injunction.
“You want to stop everything that’s in place, which is costing them a million and a half a day, while you decide what you want to do?” Lamberth asked Justice Department lawyer Peter Torstensen during the hearing, according to Reuters.
Parts of wind turbines are installed at the State Pier in New London, Connecticut, August 25, 2025, before a press conference held in response to the Trump administration’s order to stop construction of the Revolution Wind project. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant/Tribune News Service/Getty Images)
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The U.S. Office of Energy Management issued a stop-work order on Aug. 22 for Revolution Wind, which was 80 percent complete, with offshore foundations in place and 45 of 65 wind turbines installed at the time.
Pilar Arias of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
