Orsted Can Restart Construction of U.S. Offshore Wind Farm, Court Says

By Dominic Chopping

Orsted can resume construction of a U.S. offshore wind farm that was halted by the Trump administration last month, a U.S. judge ruled Monday.

The decision means Orsted can restart work on the Revolution Wind project off the coast of Rhode Island while the company's lawsuit challenging the government's stop-work order continues.

The company was ordered to halt construction of the nearly complete project to give the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management time to address concerns arising from a review commissioned by the Trump administration, which suspended new federal wind leases shortly after the president's inauguration.

Earlier this month the joint venture began legal action, believing that BOEM lacked legal authority for the stop-work order and that the order's stated basis violated applicable law.

A U.S. judge on Monday granted a preliminary injunction that blocks enforcement of the stop-work order, noting that Revolution Wind would likely suffer "irreparable harm" without it.

Revolution Wind, a joint venture with Global Infrastructure Partner's Skyborn Renewables, is 80% complete, with all offshore foundations and 45 of 65 wind turbines already installed. The $5 billion project was scheduled to become fully operational next year, when it was expected to produce enough energy to power 350,000 homes across Rhode Island and Connecticut.

Orsted said in a statement that the venture would continue to seek to work collaboratively with the U.S. administration and other stakeholders toward a prompt resolution.

"Revolution Wind will resume impacted construction work as soon as possible, with safety as the top priority," it added.

Orsted recently disclosed that the stop-work order is costing it up to $15 million a week in extra capital expenditure, but that these costs would increase significantly if it wasn't lifted by late September.

If it is forced to cancel Revolution Wind completely, the company said it would face impairments of 8 billion kroner ($1.27 billion) plus $500 million in additional costs.

Its Sunrise Wind project off the New York coast has also been feeling the knock-on effect of the Revolution Wind stop-order due to disrupted scheduling of installation vessels. Orsted estimates the cost at around $10 million a week.

Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 23, 2025 03:13 ET (07:13 GMT)