New York files suit against the Trump administration for a halt on two offshore wind project

New York's Attorney General sued the Trump Administration on Friday for suspending the construction of two major offshore wind project that the state says it needs to power a million homes and reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.

Letitia J. James, New York's Attorney General, has filed two lawsuits asking a Washington federal court to stop President Donald Trump from freezing federal offshore leases owned by Equinor of Norway and Orsted of Denmark on December 22, 2018.

A spokesperson for the Interior Department said that they would not comment on any pending lawsuits. Interior said that it had halted the projects because of complaints from the Pentagon that wind turbines can interfere with radar, making it difficult to identify potential security threats.

James stated in a press release that "New Yorkers deserve reliable, clean energy, well-paying jobs and a government which follows the law." The federal government withdrew funding without explanation from these projects, which had been carefully reviewed and were already under construction. My office is taking steps to stop this reckless?decision that puts workers, families and our 'climate goals in danger.

James, a Democrat elected to the House, is one of President Trump's most ardent political opponents.

Trump has repeatedly slowed down the development of offshore wind farms by Equinor and Orsted. He says that wind turbines are expensive, ugly and inefficient.

The two offshore wind developers, Empire Wind and Sunrise Wind, have both filed lawsuits against Interior in support of their multi-billion dollar New York projects.

In court documents, Equinor's Empire Wind warned that it would be terminated if construction was not restarted by January 16. The company has requested a preliminary order from a Washington federal judge. Next week, a hearing will be held on this request.

Orsted sued for Sunrise Wind as well as another project called Revolution Wind that is being built off the coasts of Rhode Island. In September, the company was able to convince a federal court to overturn a separate order from the Trump administration that ordered work on Revolution Wind stopped.

The Interior Department's pause in offshore wind leases affects Avangrid Vineyard Wind off the coasts of Massachusetts and Dominion Energy Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Facility. (Reporting from Nichola Groom and Nate Raymond, Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Jack Queen. Editing by Matthew Lewis.)

(source: Reuters)