A federal judge has stayed a Trump administration order halting construction of an offshore wind project serving Massachusetts.
The decision marks the fourth time a federal judge has struck down an Interior Department order halting work on five offshore wind projects under construction. Interior relied on a classified Department of Defense report that claimed wind turbines pose a national security risk.
In a ruling from the bench Tuesday, Judge Brian E. Murphy of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts said the government had failed to explain why a project that had gone through a lengthy security review during permitting suddenly presented national security concerns.
“The court finds that the record, including the classified information provided to the court, fails to adequately explain or justify the decision to halt construction,” Murphy said.
Tuesday marked the fourth time an offshore wind developer has appeared in court to challenge Interior’s stop-work order. As in previous cases, Vineyard Wind’s attorney argued that the project had reached out to federal officials seeking to address the government’s concerns but was not given any response.
The stop-work order threatened to leave the project without a critical installation vessel and jeopardize its ability to meet its contractual obligations. The Sea Installer, which is being used to install blades, has a contract that runs through the end of March. Vineyard argued it would be difficult to retain the ship, or another like it, after the contract ran out given a global shortage of wind installation vessels.
But unlike the previous occasions, Tuesday’s arguments centered around a project where turbines are already operational. Vineyard Wind has said 44 of its 62 turbines are generating power. The government’s order allowed the turbines already generating power to stay in operation while halting construction of the remaining 18.
Failure to install the remaining turbines would violate the terms of its contracts with Massachusetts utilities and with Vineyard Wind’s lenders, raising the prospect that both could cancel their respective deals, argued Jack Pirozzolo, the project’s attorney.
But the government argued those concerns were overblown.
Massachusetts officials and the project’s lenders have supported Vineyard Wind for over a decade, making it unlikely they would pull support for the project when it is so close to the finish line, said Justice Department attorney John Adams. He argued the project’s financial concerns were outweighed by the government’s national security interests.
Murphy, a Biden appointee, did not agree. He noted that Interior’s order contemplated a national security risk posed by operational turbines but allowed those to continue generating power. By contrast, no security risk was outlined in the construction process, but it was construction that was halted, he said.
“The government has made no attempt to explain this disconnect, despite it being raised hardly two weeks ago in a directly comparable case,” Murphy said. “To be clear, if the government’s concern is the operation of these facilities, allowing the ongoing operation of the 44 turbines, while prohibiting the repair of the existing turbines and the completion of the 18 additional turbines is irrational.”
There are five projects impacted by Trump’s January order. Judges have overturned the stop-work orders for Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, Empire Wind and Revolution Wind. The fifth project, Sunrise Wind, has challenged its order but has yet to appear in court.
