US Judge to make a quick decision on Equinor's challenge to Trump offshore Wind Pause

A U.S. Judge said Wednesday that he will rule soon on whether he will allow Norwegian offshore wind developer Equinor, to resume construction on the Empire Wind project?off the coast of New York?in a lawsuit filed over the Trump Administration's suspension of federal waters for the offshore wind industry. The U.S. District Court of Washington's Judge Carl Nichols declined to make an immediate decision at a hearing two days after the court had ruled that Danish offshore wind developer Orsted was allowed to restart its almost completed Revolution Wind project off Rhode Island.

Court decisions in these cases are of great importance to companies and shareholders, as they could allow for multi-billion dollar projects to be completed. However, the lawsuits that underlie them and the administration’s opposition to offshore wind continue to create uncertainty.

Five offshore wind leases have been paused. Equinor has requested an injunction to allow the work to continue during the litigation. This is the latest of a series of legal challenges against President Donald Trump’s opposition by the entire government to the offshore?sector. Trump's Interior Department halted five offshore wind leases last month, citing classified information about the risks of radar interference to national security.

Empire Wind's attorney Ann Navaro stated that the pause was an "existential threat" to the company and it could be denied access to the construction vessels needed to complete the $5.5 Billion project.

Stanley Woodward of the U.S. Department of Justice, speaking for the administration, claimed that national security concerns justified the halt. He also argued that the "parade of horrendouss" Empire Wind predicted would follow the pause were "speculative."

Nichols asked if the national security concerns of the government would be applicable during the construction phase as opposed to the operational phase. Empire Wind stated that the project's operations are not scheduled to begin until October.

The?judge appointed by Trump in his first term also suggested that the pause could be temporarily stopped before a decision is made on the merits of the case.

Equinor spent $4 billion in its project and stated?in court documents that it would likely be terminated if it could not proceed by January 16

Empire Wind, located about 20 miles (32 kilometers) off the coast of Long Island, is currently 60% completed. The electricity produced is enough to power 500,000 homes. Under Trump, offshore wind developers such as Equinor have been subjected to repeated disruptions. Trump claims that wind turbines are ugly and expensive, not to mention inefficient. Empire Wind had been halted by the Trump administration last year for a period of a month. (Reporting and editing by Nichola Grroom, Rod Nickel; Alistair Bell)

(source: Reuters)