US judge issues major ruling in battle over offshore project: 'Should be very skeptical'

A mid-January court ruling has allowed a nearly finished offshore wind project to resume construction after the White House halted its progress in 2025, the Guardian reported.

United States District Judge Royce Lamberth sided with Danish energy company Ørsted, giving the green light for the construction of Revolution Wind to move forward. The Rhode Island project was one of five offshore developments suspended by the Department of the Interior in late December, with officials citing national security concerns.

Crews had finished roughly 87% of the Revolution Wind build when work was stopped. The facility should begin delivering electricity to the grid later this year.

Lamberth's ruling could be good news for communities that stand to benefit from clean energy. Advocates note that offshore wind installations like Revolution Wind can stabilize local power grids, provide a reliable source of clean energy, and create jobs in coastal regions.

When these facilities replace dirtier power sources, they can improve air quality for locals, too. And of interest to ratepayers, more wind power on the grid often means lower electricity costs over time and less dependence on fuel sources that fluctuate in price.

Two more court hearings on similar injunctions were held in early January. New rulings cleared the way for Equinor's Empire Wind near New York and Dominion's Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind projects to resume. A late-January ruling also enabled construction of Vineyard Wind, off the coast of Massachusetts, to move ahead.

In the Revolution Wind case, Judge Lamberth pushed back on the government's reasoning.

"You want to stop everything in place, costing them one and a half million a day, while you decide what you want to do?" Lamberth questioned, per the Guardian.

Ørsted attorney Janice Schneider, meanwhile, contended that the suspension violated proper government protocol and the company's right to fair treatment. Schneider noted that Ørsted never got to see the secret government report used to justify the decision.

"This court should be very skeptical of the government's true motives here," Schneider said.

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