Offshore Wind Developers Challenge Latest Stop Work Orders

The following article first appeared on Robinson+Cole’s Environment Law blog. It is reposted here with permission.

---

In response to the Trump administration’s latest suspension of offshore wind development, three of the five affected developers have filed lawsuits in federal court seeking to overturn the stop work orders.

Dominion Energy filed on behalf of its Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, Ørsted for its Revolution Wind project, and Equinor for its Empire Wind project.

All three projects are under construction, with Revolution Wind nearly 90% complete and Empire Wind over 60% complete.

Consistent with prior legal actions opposing the administration’s efforts to halt offshore wind development, the complaints allege that the Department of the Interior’s Dec. 22 order (which the plaintiffs claim is costing them millions of dollars for each day the projects are on hold), is illegal and that the DOI’s alleged national security justification for the orders is baseless and pretextual.

The developers are backed by the attorneys general of Connecticut and Rhode Island, who filed their own actions to block the shutdowns.

Federal courts have been receptive to arguments raised by both developers and the states that are relying on offshore generation.

Those cases are now consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

To date, federal courts have been receptive to arguments raised by both developers and the states that are relying on offshore generation.

Ørsted successfully brought suit in the District of Columbia challenging the DOI’s prior efforts to block Revolution Wind, and on Dec. 8, 2025, a federal court in Massachusetts ruled that the administration’s blanket ban on permit application review of wind projects was illegal.

Ørsted’s prior action in the District of Columbia was heard by Judge Royce Lamberth, who will preside over the newly consolidated cases. 

An initial hearing is scheduled for Jan. 12, 2026.

---

About the author: Peter Knight is a partner in Robinson+Cole’s Environmental, Energy + Telecommunications Group, and focuses on environmental litigation and enforcement matters.