A United States federal judge has ruled in favour of renewables developer Orsted after the Trump administration halted work on its nearly complete Revolution Wind project off the New York coast.
Related article: Trump administration sued for stalling Orsted wind project
Work on the offshore wind project was 80% complete when it was shut down by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management over unspecified national security concerns.
Orsted and its development partner Skyborn Renewables sought an injunction in U.S. District Court seeking to overturn the stop work order.
Judge Royce Lamberth said he considered how the delays were costing $2.3 million a day and the fact the entire project could collapse if delayed further.
“There is no question in my mind of irreparable harm to the plaintiffs,” Lamberth said in his ruling, which also said the plaintiff had “demonstrated likelihood of success on the merits” in its claim.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Managemen said it “continues its investigation into possible impacts by the project to national security and prevention of other uses on the Outer Continental Shelf.”
Orsted said construction at Revolution Wind would resume as soon as possible.
In April the Trump administration issued a stop work order on Equinor’s 810MW Empire Wind 1 project off the coast of New York.
Related article: Trump lifts stop work order on US offshore wind farm
The project faced a month-long delay before the administration allowed construction to resume.
