Key Points:
- Orsted is asking a federal judge to lift the government’s halt on Sunrise Wind.
- The Trump administration paused the project over national security and radar concerns.
- Orsted warns the project could be canceled if work doesn’t resume by February 6.
- Sunrise Wind is 45% complete and is designed to power nearly 600,000 homes.
A federal judge in Washington is set to decide the fate of a major offshore wind farm on Monday as Danish energy giant Orsted fights to overturn a government order that halted construction. Orsted is asking the court to block the Trump administration’s suspension of its Sunrise Wind project, located off the coast of New York.
This legal battle is the latest in a series of clashes between the White House and the renewable energy sector. On December 22, the Interior Department abruptly paused five offshore wind leases, citing national security concerns related to radar interference. Since then, developers have been scrambling to get their multi-billion-dollar investments back on track.
For Orsted, the stakes are incredibly high. The company stated in court filings that it has already spent or committed more than $7 billion to build Sunrise Wind. The clock is ticking; if the government’s stop-work order isn’t lifted by February 6, the project could lose access to a specialized vessel required to install vital offshore cables.
Orsted warned that missing this window would delay revenue, hurt the project’s financial health, and create a “substantial risk of its cancellation.”
The government argues that new, classified information about how wind turbines affect radar systems justifies the pause. However, Orsted has reason to be optimistic. Judge Royce Lamberth, who is presiding over Monday’s hearing, previously granted a similar injunction for Orsted’s Revolution Wind project off the coast of Rhode Island. In total, four other wind projects have already won court orders allowing them to resume work while their lawsuits move forward.
The conflict highlights the ongoing tension between the wind industry and President Donald Trump, who has frequently criticized wind turbines as being expensive, inefficient, and visually unappealing.
Despite the political headwinds, construction on Sunrise Wind is already about 45% complete. Located 30 miles east of Long Island, the facility is designed to power nearly 600,000 homes. If Orsted wins this legal round, the company hopes to have the wind farm operational by October.
