A federal judge yesterday allowed work to restart on the stalled Revolution Wind offshore wind project after the Trump administration halted it last month. Via Politico:
Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted a motion for preliminary injunction of the stop-work order imposed by the Trump administration on the New England project during a high-stakes hearing. The multibillion-dollar offshore wind project is one of the highest-profile renewable energy projects that the administration has sought to suspend while it reviews approvals.
“There is no question in my mind of irreparable harm to the plaintiff,” Lamberth said of the administration’s actions during the hearing.
Lamberth granted the preliminary injunction, allowing work on the project to restart while the government conducts review of its concerns. The order said Revolution Wind is likely to suffer irreparable harm if it isn’t able to restart work on the project, which is 80 percent complete.
Lamberth said that if work does not proceed on the project, the “entire enterprise could collapse” and he pointed to a specialized ship necessary to complete the project that will no longer be available after December.
The project is being developed by the Danish wind giant Ørsted and Skyborn Renewables, which has argued that the stop-work order is illegal and “reflects a shockingly expansive theory of agency power to undo prior regulatory approvals.” Their lawyers argued that the Interior Department violated the major questions doctrine with the pause.
However, the Supremes have been eroding that doctrine since 2022, and since Trump is especially determined to stop anything that mitigates the effects of fossil fuels, don't assume it stays that way. Still, good news.
