Ørsted files legal challenge against US government over windfarm lease freeze | Ørsted
Europe’s largest offshore wind developer is taking the Trump administration to court over its decision to suspend work on a $5 billion project off the northeastern coast of the United States.
Denmark’s Ørsted filed a legal challenge Thursday to the White House’s decision 10 days ago to suspend the lease of the Revolution Wind field as part of a sweeping move to halt offshore wind construction.
The attempted injunction is the latest in a series of legal wrangles between the renewable energy industry and Donald Trump, whose administration has sought to block the progress of major offshore wind projects since his re-election.
Trump, a strong supporter of the fossil fuel industry, opposes renewable energy, and wind in particular, saying he finds turbines ugly, costly and inefficient.
On December 22, Interior Department officials suspended leases for five major offshore wind projects under construction in U.S. waters due to unspecified “national security risks.”
In the statement made by Ørsted and its partner in the Revolution project, Skyborn Renewables, it was stated that this move was a violation of applicable laws.
“The lawsuit is a necessary step to protect the rights of the project” and to prevent “significant harm” to the project if the suspension remains in effect, according to the statement.
“Revolution Wind received all necessary federal and state permits in 2023 following extensive reviews that began more than nine years ago,” he said.
The move comes months after the Trump administration issued a “stop work order” against construction of the Revolution project in August, citing the need to “address concerns about protecting national security interests.”
The construction halt sent shockwaves through the industry and caused the market value of Ørsted, which is partly owned by the Danish state, to fall to record lows. No details regarding national security issues were given by the White House, and weeks later a federal judge allowed Ørsted to resume work on the project.
“If Trump’s plan is to raise energy prices for families, put Americans out of work, accelerate climate change, and precipitate the Great Climate Insurance Crisis, he is upending that plan with his all-out attack on America’s offshore wind,” Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island senator and ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said at the time.
Construction is nearly 90% complete, and the facility is expected to begin providing “reliable, affordable energy” to U.S. homes in 2026. Ørsted said it has already installed all the offshore foundations and 58 of the project’s 65 wind turbines.
Ørsted shares, which experienced another 12 percent decline following the announcement on December 22, gained approximately 4 percent on Friday following the news of the lawsuit.
