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2h ago

Equinor Asks Judge to Lift Empire Wind Freeze as Cancellation Looms

The Interior Department’s pause on five offshore wind leases over undisclosed security findings has pushed developers into court to keep time‑critical construction moving.

FILE - Wind turbine bases, generators and blades sit at The Portsmouth Marine terminal that is the staging area for Dominion Energy Virginia, which is developing Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, Dec. 22, 2025, in Portsmouth, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)
FILE - Wind turbine components sit at New London State Pier, April 16, 2025, in New London, Conn. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
FILE - Wind turbines operate at Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts, July 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
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Overview

  • A federal hearing in Washington on Wednesday took up Equinor’s bid to restart Empire Wind, and the judge did not issue an immediate ruling.
  • Equinor says the project could be terminated if work cannot resume by Jan. 16 because a specialized heavy‑lift vessel leaves by Feb. 1 after installing the offshore substation topside.
  • Empire Wind is roughly 60% built off Long Island, designed to supply power for about 500,000 homes, and Equinor reports spending about $4 billion to date.
  • A separate judge this week allowed Ørsted’s nearly completed Revolution Wind project to continue while the administration considers mitigation for its stated security concerns.
  • Interior halted five East Coast projects in December citing classified Defense Department information about national security and radar risks, and New York’s attorney general has sued over the Empire Wind and Sunrise Wind suspensions.