“You want to stop everything in place, costing them one-and-a-half million a day, while you decide what you want to do?”
A federal judge on Monday blocked the administration’s December order halting construction on an offshore wind national security basis, ruling the government failed to explain how stopping an 87% complete project would address the unspecified threat.
Judge Royce Lamberth, a Reagan appointee, said the court should be “very skeptical of the government’s true motives” after the administration cited classified information it could not share. The Interior Department had ordered five East Coast wind projects paused, citing concerns identified by the Defense Department in November.
The projects had previously undergone years of Pentagon review during their permitting process. The Defense Department was consulted at every stage, according to court filings.
Known For Decades
The administration’s stated concern involves radar interference from turbine blades—a phenomenon documented in government reports for decades and addressed during the multi-year federal review that approved the projects.
“Purportedly new classified information does not constitute a sufficient explanation for the bureau’s decision to entirely stop work,” Judge Lamberth ruled from the bench.
The ruling applies only to Revolution Wind, a $6 billion project off Rhode Island. Four other projects totaling $19 billion in investment remain halted, including Empire Wind, which faces “likely termination” if construction cannot resume by Friday.
Second Halt In Four Months
This marks the second time Revolution Wind has been halted and subsequently cleared by courts. The administration first ordered work stopped in August, citing national security. A judge allowed construction to continue in September. The December order halted the project again.
On Friday, the president told oil executives that wind farms are “losers” and that he has instructed officials not to approve “any windmills in this country.”
Asked about the national security rationale, a government attorney said the administration needed time to assess whether the security risks “can be adequately mitigated.”
“You want to stop everything in place,” Judge Lamberth responded, “while you decide what you want to do?”
Developing.
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