Overview

• The Interior Department asked a Washington, D.C., federal court to send SouthCoast Wind’s construction and operations plan back to BOEM for reconsideration and to stay the ongoing lawsuit.
• In its filing, BOEM said the environmental review may have understated potential impacts and that the approval may not have fully complied with the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act’s balancing requirements.
• BOEM told the court the timeline for its review is uncertain because it must incorporate the president’s January memorandum directing a comprehensive review of offshore‑wind activities.
• Ocean Winds said the permit followed a rigorous four‑year process and vowed to defend it, noting the project sits roughly 30 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard with potential output above 2.4 gigawatts.
• The move is part of a broader federal reexamination of offshore wind that has included a stop‑work order at the nearly completed Revolution Wind project, with Nantucket mounting a separate challenge to SouthCoast.