DC Circuit clears Norway's Equinor to resume wind project halted by Trump

WASHINGTON (AFP) — A U.S. judge on Thursday authorized work to resume on a New York offshore wind project that had been suspended under an order by President Donald Trump’s administration.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols granted a preliminary injunction to the Norwegian company Equinor for its Empire Wind project, just three days after a different judge ordered the restart of a project by Denmark’s Orsted.

Trump’s Interior Department in late December suspended all large offshore wind projects in the United States.

Empire Wind had requested the District of Columbia court’s intervention on an emergency basis, arguing in a Jan. 6 filing that it needed to resume construction by Jan. 16.

Without restarting by that time, “the project faces likely termination due to disruption of a tightly choreographed construction schedule dependent on vessels with constrained availability, delay costs and the existential threat to the project financing,” said the filing.

Nichols granted the motion after a telephone hearing Thursday with the parties. He did not rule on Equinor’s underlying challenge to the Trump administration’s action.

Empire Wind “will now focus on safely restarting construction activities that were halted during the suspension period,” the company said.

“In addition, the project will continue to engage with the U.S. government to ensure the safe, secure and responsible execution of its operations.”

The Interior Department on Dec. 22 said it had paused leases for Empire Wind and four other offshore wind projects under construction, citing “national security.”

A news release pointed to “radar interference” due to “the movement of massive turbine blades and the highly reflective towers.”

Trump has long complained that wind turbines ruin views and are expensive.

—

By Agence France-Presse