Ørsted to restart work on US offshore wind farm after court ruling
Judge issues preliminary injunction lifting Trump administration order that halted construction of project
A federal judge in the US has allowed Ørsted to restart work on a major offshore wind farm in the US, in a boost to the troubled Danish company after several setbacks.
Judge Royce Lamberth of the district court in Washington granted Ørsted’s request for an injunction to block a “stop work order” issued by the Trump administration against the company’s $1.5bn Revolution Wind project off the coast of Rhode Island.
In a statement, the offshore wind developer said the preliminary injunction would allow it to restart work while the lawsuit continued, adding it would “continue to [ . . .] work towards a prompt resolution”.
“Revolution Wind will resume impacted construction work as soon as possible, with safety as the top priority,” it added.
While the ruling is expected to be followed by further litigation, including potential appeals, it will be a relief to Ørsted executives.
They had warned of high costs and huge disruption if the stop work order was not lifted this month, because the company could have to renegotiate supply contracts or face penalties from customers.
Revolution Wind, which Ørsted is developing in a joint venture with Skyborn Renewables, a unit of BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners, is 80 per cent complete, with 45 out of its 65 wind turbines installed.
Ørsted’s US-listed shares were up almost 10 per cent on Monday following the ruling by Lamberth.
The preliminary injunction highlights how US President Donald Trump’s hostility to offshore wind, which has already caused damage to Ørsted’s business, will not go unchallenged in the courts.
Trump has repeatedly criticised the sector, calling it the “worst form of energy”. He placed a freeze on using seabed leases for offshore wind developments after he returned to the White House in January.
In August, the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management ordered Ørsted to stop work on Revolution Wind, citing the need to protect unspecified “national security interests”.
The order came weeks after Ørsted said it needed to raise about $9.4bn from shareholders, mainly to help it finish building another US offshore wind farm, Sunrise Wind, located off the coast of New York.
Investors subsequently approved the rights issue by Ørsted, which launched last week at a heavily discounted price, but they are watching developments in the US closely.
Ørsted took legal action to challenge the stop work order in September, calling it “arbitrary and capricious”.
A Department of Interior spokesperson said the court’s decision would allow a resumption of construction of the Revolution Wind project while it continued its investigation into possible impacts, including to national security and the prevention of other uses on the outer continental shelf.
“The Department of the Interior remains committed to ensuring that prior decisions are legally and factually sound,” they added.
Last week Chris Wright, US secretary for energy, told the Financial Times that approvals for offshore wind farms were rushed through, and that multiple government departments were looking at legitimate and serious concerns.
While Trump has made Ørsted’s planned offshore wind projects in the US far more difficult, its troubles predate his administration.
In 2023, the company had to walk away from two large projects in the US because of rising costs that have affected the entire industry.