Trump Admin’s Offshore Wind Suspension Faces Legal Challenge From Orsted

Danish energy company Orsted has taken legal action to block the Trump administration’s suspension of offshore wind construction, challenging a federal order that halted work on five major projects over national security concerns.

In a court filing on Jan. 2, Revolution Wind, an Orsted joint venture, asked a federal judge in Washington to block enforcement of what it claims is a “patently unlawful” stop-work order issued by the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on Dec. 22.

The Dec. 22 directive ordered a 90-day pause on construction activity at five major offshore wind projects—including Revolution Wind—while the government reviews classified reports related to military radar and security risks, which followed a Pentagon finding that turbine structures can interfere with critical radar systems.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a Dec. 22 statement that the stop-work order was motivated by the imperative of keeping Americans safe.

“Today’s action addresses emerging national security risks, including the rapid evolution of the relevant adversary technologies, and the vulnerabilities created by large-scale offshore wind projects with proximity near our east coast population centers,” Burgum said.

He also said that the Trump administration “will always prioritize the security of the American people.”

Orsted’s Jan. 2 filing argues that the suspension is “arbitrary and capricious,” violates federal offshore leasing law, and unconstitutionally deprives developers of property rights without due process.

The company stated that the $5 billion project is nearly complete and has already received more than 20 federal and state approvals following years of environmental and national security reviews. Cancellation of the project, Orsted argued, threatens hundreds of operations and maintenance jobs and increases risks to New England grid reliability.

“As a result of Defendants’ unlawful action, Revolution Wind now once again faces enterprise-level threats,” the complaint reads, stating that the Dec. 22 stop-work order is already “irreparably harming Revolution Wind, harm that will continue to compound in the absence of a preliminary injunction by January 12, 2026.”

Stop-Work Order Follows Earlier Halt Overturned by Court

Orsted stated in its Jan. 2 filing that the court found a similar stop-work order to be unlawful, referring to an earlier BOEM order issued in August that was temporarily blocked by a judge.

In the August stop-work order, the BOEM stated that it needed time to assess “concerns related to the protection of national security interests of the United States and prevention of interference with reasonable uses of the exclusive economic zone, the high seas, and the territorial seas.”

In granting an injunction blocking the August order, a federal judge said Orsted had demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits of the case, that the company would likely suffer irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction, and that granting the motion was in the public interest.

The Justice Department, which represents the BOEM in the case, said in an opposition brief that the August stop-work order was authorized by the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and was merely part of a review of existing offshore wind leases.

“As part of that ongoing review, BOEM identified concerns with the Revolution Wind Farm and Revolution Wind Export Cable Project,” Justice Department attorneys wrote in the brief. “Those concerns relate to national security interests and potential interference with other reasonable uses of federal waters.”

Government attorneys added that the August order did not rescind or modify any existing project approval, nor did it terminate the project or revoke Revolution Wind’s lease.

“Rather, given the identified concerns, the order halts construction work while BOEM completes its review,” the Justice Department wrote in the brief.

Orsted’s Jan. 2 filing is part of a broader lawsuit challenging the BOEM’s August decision to launch a regulatory review of offshore wind projects, which paused new approvals and led to the first stop-work order at Revolution Wind.

The Epoch Times has reached out to BOEM with a request for comment on the latest legal challenge.