U.S. federal judges are allowing some offshore wind projects to move forward, despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s attempt to once again block any development on the East Coast.
“The Trump administration’s bogus effort to stop offshore wind blew up again in federal court today,” U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) said in a statement. “Stopping clean energy raises customers’ costs, and the money goes to fossil fuel power plants – to Trump’s big donors. The good news for Rhode Islanders working on these projects is that President Donald ‘Stop Work’ Trump keeps striking out as he tries to prevent cheap energy from getting onto our grid.”
The rebuke comes roughly a month after a federal judge vacated Trump’s initial freeze on offshore wind development on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) of the East Coast. In declaring Trump’s order – which he announced day one of his second term – unlawful, Judge Patti Saris of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled that the president’s action was “arbitrary and capricious.”
Unphased, the Trump administration quickly moved to freeze offshore wind development once again, with the U.S. Department of the Interior pausing development on five projects – Vineyard Wind 1, Revolution Wind, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, Sunrise Wind, and Empire Wind 1 – for national security reasons on 22 December 2025.
“The prime duty of the United States government is to protect the American people,” Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said in a release. “Today’s action addresses emerging national security risks, including the rapid evolution of relevant adversary technologies and the vulnerabilities created by large-scale offshore wind projects with proximity near our East Coast population centers. The Trump administration will always prioritize the security of the American people.”
Commercial fishers – many of whom oppose the developments for cutting off access to fishing grounds and disrupting their business – were quick to praise the administration for resuming the fight against offshore wind.
“President Trump is prioritizing American fishermen, working waterfronts, and the United States’ national security by pausing offshore wind projects,” New England Fishermen's Stewardship Association (NEFSA) Chairman and Chief Strategist Dustin Delano said in December. “Safeguarding the United States includes responsible ocean management, and as stewards of the sea, we’re thankful for this decision to halt offshore wind projects.”
The president has continued to speak out against offshore wind development since, telling oil executives in a meeting earlier in January that he was opposed to “windmills.”
“I’ve told my people we will not approve windmills,” Trump said.
However, three of the wind development groups have sued the federal government over the stop work orders: Denmark-based Orsted sued over its Revolution 1 project off of Rhode Island; Norway-based Equinor sued over its Empire 1 project off of New York; and Richmond, Virginia, U.S.A.-based Dominion Energy sued over its Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind.
Federal judges were quick to allow work on all three projects to continue as the lawsuits are argued in court.
Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled 12 January that Rhode Island-based Revolution 1 could move forward. On 15 January, Judge Carl Nichols of the District Court for the District of Columbia similarly ruled that Empire Wind 1 could continue, and on 16 January, Judge Jamar Walker of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia allowed work on Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind could continue.
“Today, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted Dominion Energy’s request for a preliminary injunction allowing construction to resume on the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project while Dominion Energy’s lawsuit challenging the agency’s action proceeds,” Dominion Energy said in a statement. “Our team will now focus on safely restarting work to ensure CVOW begins delivery of critical energy in just weeks. While our legal challenge proceeds, we will continue seeking a durable resolution of this matter through cooperation with the federal government.”
Lawsuits have also been filed on behalf of Vineyard Wind 1 and Sunrise Wind.
