offshore wind

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Judge lets construction on an offshore wind farm resume

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That did not, however, stop the administration from trying again, this time targeting a development called Revolution Wind, located a bit further north along the Atlantic coast. This time, however, the developer quickly sued, leading to Monday’s ruling. According to Reuters, after a two-hour court hearing at the District Court of DC, Judge Royce Lamberth termed the administration’s actions “the height of arbitrary and capricious” and issued a preliminary injunction against the hold on Revolution Wind’s construction. As a result, Orsted can restart work immediately.

The decision provides a strong indication of how Lamberth is likely to rule if the government pursues a full trial on the case. And while the Trump administration could appeal, it’s unlikely to see this injunction lifted unless it takes the case all the way to the Supreme Court. Given that Revolution Wind was already 80 percent complete, the case may become moot before it gets that far.

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Trump admin lifts hold on offshore wind farm, doesn’t explain why

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On Monday, however, the company announced that the hold had been lifted and construction would resume. But as with the hold itself, the reasons for its end remain mysterious. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management page for the project was only updated with a new letter on Tuesday. That letter indicates a review of its approval is ongoing, but construction can resume during the review.

The Department of the Interior has not addressed the change and has not responded to a request for comment. A post by Interior Secretary Burgum doesn’t mention Empire Wind but does suggest the governor of New York will approve a pipeline: “I am encouraged by Governor Hochul’s comments about her willingness to move forward on critical pipeline capacity.”

That suggests there was a deal that allowed Empire Wind to resume construction in return for a pipeline for fossil fuels. The New York Times suggests that this is a reference to the proposed Constitution Pipeline, which was planned to move natural gas from Pennsylvania to eastern New York but was cancelled in 2020 due to state opposition.

However, Governor Kathy Hochul has not commented about a willingness to move forward with any pipelines. Instead, Hochul’s statement on Empire Wind is very vague, saying that she “reaffirmed that New York will work with the Administration and private entities on new energy projects that meet the legal requirements under New York law.”

So while it’s good news that construction on Empire Wind has restarted, the whole process has been problematic, driven by apparently arbitrary decisions that the government has refused to justify.

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US Interior secretary orders offshore wind project shut down

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It’s notable that this hold comes despite Trump’s executive order explicitly stating, “Nothing in this withdrawal [of future leasing] affects rights under existing leases in the withdrawn areas.”

GAO undercuts the message

The order alleged there were “various alleged legal deficiencies underlying the Federal Government’s leasing and permitting of onshore and offshore wind projects, the consequences of which may lead to grave harm.” In response to those allegations, the Government Accountability Office began an evaluation of the Department of the Interior’s activities in overseeing offshore wind development. The results of that were made public on Monday.

And the report only found minor issues. Its primary recommendations are that Interior improve its consultations with leaders of tribal communities that may be impacted by wind development and boost “incorporation of Indigenous knowledge.” The GAO also thinks that Interior should improve its methods of getting input from the fishing industry. The report also acknowledges that there are uncertainties about everything from invasive species to the turbines’ effect on navigational radar but says these will vary based on a wind farm’s site, size, and other features, and we’ll only have a clearer picture once we have built more of them.

Notably, it says that wind farm development has had no effect on the local whale population, a popular Republican criticism of offshore wind.

Trump’s animosity toward wind power has a long history, so it’s unlikely that this largely positive report will do much to get the hold on leasing lifted. In reality, however, the long-term uncertainty about offshore wind in the US will probably block new developments until the end of Trump’s time in office. Offshore wind companies have budgeted based on tax incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act, and the administration has suggested they may revoke those in future budgets. And the move by Burgum means that, even if a company clears all the leasing and improvement hurdles, the government may shut down a project for seemingly arbitrary reasons.

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