Orsted project sues Trump government over Revolution Wind halt

Offshore wind giant Orsted's Revolution Wind is suing the US government over its order to halt the almost-complete offshore wind farm.

The Orsted-led project filed a case on Thursday in a federal court in Washington, DC seeking an order allowing it to finish its Revolution Wind array off Rhode Island with partner Skyborn Renewables.

"The stop work order was issued without statutory authority, lacks any evidentiary basis, and is unlawful," according to the court filing by the Orsted-Skyborn joint venture.

The order issued more than a week ago caused outrage in the wind industry, targeting a project that was 80% complete on vague national security grounds and other concerns.

One analyst said at the time that he had "never seen political action with such direct and harmful impact. It is just beyond imagination".

Orsted said: "While Revolution Wind will continue to seek to work collaboratively with the Administration and other stakeholders toward a prompt resolution, it believes that [federal agency] BOEM lacked legal authority for the stop-work order and that the stop-work order’s stated basis violated applicable law.

"The project is facing substantial harm from continuation of the stop-work order, and as a result, litigation is a necessary step."

The Danish group said Revolution Wind secured all required federal and state permits in 2023, following reviews that began more than nine years ago. "Revolution Wind has spent and committed billions of dollars in reliance upon this fulsome review process."

Orsted added: "Revolution Wind, which is now 80% complete, supports job creation and is expected to enhance reliability as a critical part of the Northeast energy supply, which is crucial to meeting strong expected growth in energy demand. This includes supporting the growing power needs of data centers and AI, with experts warning that halting the project will increase electricity costs for the region."

The offshore wind giant also stressed massive investments in jobs and infrastructure spurred by the $4bn project.

Orsted's launching of legal action follows a threat to do the same by Equinor, the Norwegian oil giant which found its Empire Wind project off New York subject of a stop-work order earlier this year.

Empire Wind was subsequently given a reprieve following an apparent change of heart by Trump, reportedly linked to a deal over a gas pipeline and intense diplomacy by Norway.

Whether Orsted, which saw its outlook downgraded again today, and Denmark will have similar success remains to be seen.