A federal judge in Washington has opened the door for Equinor to restart construction on its flagship offshore wind project off the coast of New York, delivering another judicial blow to the Trump administration’s effort to freeze offshore wind development.
The decision allows work to resume on the Empire Wind project, which had been abruptly stopped last month as part of a broader federal pause affecting five offshore wind ventures. It follows closely on the heels of another ruling earlier this week that permitted a separate offshore wind project near Rhode Island to move forward.
While the broader legal battle is far from over, the ruling offers Equinor — and potentially other developers — breathing room to keep multi-billion-dollar projects alive while courts examine the legality of the federal shutdown. Another case is already lined up, with a Virginia judge set to hear arguments over whether construction can resume on Dominion Energy’s offshore wind project later this week.
The administration has repeatedly voiced strong opposition to offshore wind, criticizing the technology as costly, unreliable and visually intrusive. Federal officials defended the pause by citing newly raised national security concerns, including classified assessments related to radar interference reportedly flagged by the Defense Department late last year.
The judge, however, was unconvinced that those concerns justified an immediate and sweeping halt. He found that stopping Empire Wind midstream would inflict serious and lasting damage, potentially derailing the entire project by cutting off access to specialized vessels required to complete construction.
Equinor has already invested about $4 billion in Empire Wind, which is roughly 60% built and designed to supply electricity to around half a million New York homes once completed.
Following the ruling, the company said it would begin carefully restarting construction activities that were suspended during the federal pause, while continuing discussions with U.S. authorities to address safety and security considerations.
The court indicated it will move quickly to hear the underlying lawsuit, setting the stage for a faster-than-usual legal showdown that could shape the future of offshore wind development in U.S. federal waters.
