The billion-dollar Revolution Wind Farm project off Rhode Island’s coast is back in motion after a D.C. federal judge slammed the Trump administration’s sudden halt as “arbitrary and capricious.” On Monday, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth issued a preliminary injunction in favor of Danish energy giant Ørsted, allowing the company to restart construction on the massive offshore installation, which is already about 80% complete.
The ruling comes just weeks after the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) ordered a full stop on August 22, citing vague national security risks. Ørsted argued the move cost it roughly $2.3 million a day in delays and risked derailing the project entirely.
Judge Rebukes Agency’s “About-Face”
Judge Lamberth didn’t mince words, saying the bureau’s sudden reversal ignored years of exhaustive federal review already completed.
“The statutory factors now under review are the same ones the agency already evaluated and cleared,” Lamberth said from the bench. He criticized the order for raising only “the mere potential for national security concerns,” without any supporting findings.
Ørsted emphasized the project, once finished, will power 350,000 homes across Rhode Island and Connecticut. Both states, with power purchase agreements already inked, also sued to overturn the administration’s order.
