Jan 15 (Reuters) – A federal judge on Thursday cleared Norwegian offshore wind developer Equinor (EQNR.OL), opens new tab to resume work on its New York Empire Wind project, which President Donald Trump’s administration halted along with four other projects last month.The ruling by U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington is the second legal setback for Trump’s offshore wind pause this week, after a judge in the same court on Monday ruled Danish energy company Orsted (ORSTED.CO), opens new tab could restart work on a project off the coast of Rhode Island.
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The victories give Equinor and Orsted what could be a temporary reprieve to continue work on their multi-billion-dollar projects, while their underlying lawsuits proceed. A federal judge in Virginia on Friday will consider a request by another project, Dominion’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, to block Trump’s offshore wind pause.
Trump has spent the last year seeking to block expansion of offshore wind in federal waters. He has repeatedly said he considers the technology expensive, unreliable and ugly. The Interior Department, which ordered the pause, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling.
Government attorneys argued in court that the December 22 halt was justified by new, classified information regarding offshore wind’s impact on national security. The Defense Department raised the new concerns, which relate to radar interference, to Interior officials in November.
But Nichols, who was appointed by Trump during his first term, said the government’s national security concerns did not outweigh the “irreparable harm” Empire Wind would suffer if it could not resume construction.
The order “threatens Empire Wind’s entire existence,” Nichols said, by limiting its access to rare vessels it needs to finish the project.
Equinor has spent $4 billion on the project, which is 60% complete and is expected to produce enough power for 500,000 New York homes.
“Empire Wind will now focus on safely restarting construction activities that were halted during the suspension period,” Equinor said in a statement. “In addition, the project will continue to engage with the U.S. government to ensure the safe, secure and responsible execution of its operations.”
Nichols said he would consider the merits of the underlying lawsuit on an “expedited basis.”
Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington and Nichola Groom in Los Angeles
Editing by Rod Nickel and Aurora Ellis
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