A federal judge on Monday ruled that an offshore wind project aimed at powering 600,000 New York homes can resume construction, the fifth such project put back on track after the Trump administration halted them in December.
In clearing the way for Sunrise Wind to proceed, Judge Royce Lamberth found that the government had not shown that offshore wind is such an imminent national security risk that it must be halted in the U.S.
The President has said his goal is to not let any “windmills” be built, and often talks about his hatred of wind power. His administration froze five big offshore wind projects on the East Coast days before Christmas, citing national security concerns. Developers and states sued to block the order. White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers has repeatedly said during the legal battle over the pause that Trump has been clear that “wind energy is the scam of the century” and the pause is meant to protect the national security of the American people.
Danish company Orsted sued the administration over halting both Sunrise Wind and its Revolution Wind for Rhode Island and Connecticut. In a preliminary injunction hearing on Sunrise Wind at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Monday, Lamberth cited many of the same reasons that he used when he ruled in January that construction could continue on Revolution Wind.
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