States, Companies Sue Trump Admin Over Halt of Offshore Wind Farms

The state attorneys general argued there was ‘zero justification’ for the issuing of the stop-work order.

A view of the turbines at Ørsted's offshore wind farm near Nysted, Denmark, on Sept. 4, 2023. Tom Little/Reuters

Two lawsuits were filed against the Trump administration on Sept. 4 for its decision to stop construction of a wind farm off the coast of New England.

First to file in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia were the two green energy companies behind the wind farm project known as “Revolution Wind”: Skyborn Renewables and the Danish wind company Ørsted.

They are seeking to vacate the Department of the Interior’s stop-work order, arguing that the administration does not have the legal authority to stop construction.

“The Stop Work Order is invalid and must be set aside because it was issued without statutory authority, in violation of agency regulations and procedures and the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause, and is arbitrary and capricious,” the plaintiffs stated.

They added that they have already spent $5 billion on the project and face another $1 billion in breakaway costs if the project is cancelled.

That same day, Attorneys General William Tong from Connecticut and Peter Neronha of Rhode Island announced their states would file their own suits in the Rhode Island Federal Court to overturn the order.

They argued that the action was a violation of both the Administrative Procedure Act and the government’s authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.

“Revolution Wind is fully permitted, nearly complete, and months from providing enough American-made, clean, affordable energy to power 350,000 homes,” Tong said in a joint statement.

“Now, with zero justification, Trump wants to mothball the project, send workers home, and saddle Connecticut families with millions of dollars in higher energy costs.

“This kind of erratic and reckless governing is blatantly illegal, and we’re suing to stop it.”

Both the Administrative Procedure Act and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, the attorneys general argue, “Demand reasoned decision-making, fidelity to statutory limits, and respect for the settled expectations of sovereign states and regulated parties,” when it comes to issuing matters like the stop-work order.

The attorneys general stated that the project was completely vetted and approved through state and federal processes, and was on track to be completed by 2026.

Positioned roughly 15 nautical miles off the coast of Rhode Island, Revolution Wind was roughly 80 percent complete when the Trump administration’s stop-work order came down from the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management on Aug. 22.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s acting director, Matthew Giacona, sent a letter to Ørsted’s head of asset management, Rob Keiser, ordering the suspension of all activities so officials could conduct a review to address “concerns related to the protection of national security interests,” in line with President Donald Trump’s executive order.

No work could be done until the bureau informed the companies that it had completed the review.

Giacona also stated that he intended the order to prevent “interference with reasonable uses of the exclusive economic zone, the high seas, and the territorial seas.”

The Epoch Times has reached out to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for comment on the lawsuits.