Overview
- U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth on Sept. 22 issued a preliminary injunction that allows work to restart on the Revolution Wind project while litigation continues.
- He called the Interior Department’s stop-work order “the height of arbitrary and capricious action,” finding likely success on the merits and noting losses of about $2.3 million per day and looming vessel deadlines after December.
- Revolution Wind is roughly 80% complete with 45 of 65 turbines installed and is designed to deliver 704 megawatts, enough to power about 350,000 homes in Rhode Island and Connecticut.
- Interior said construction can proceed as BOEM continues investigating potential national-security and other-use impacts, pointing to unresolved coordination with DOD and NOAA that the developers dispute.
- The case unfolds as the administration reassesses offshore wind approvals and withdraws funding for related projects, even as Rhode Island and Connecticut leaders and unions prepare crews to return to work.