Orsted said it would resume construction “as soon as possible.” — Bloomberg
NEW YORK: Orsted A/S will resume work on its nearly-completed wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island after a US judge ruled construction can continue during a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s stop-work order, a major win for the beleaguered Danish energy giant.
A federal judge in Washington agreed on Monday that the Revolution Wind project, intended to power hundreds of thousands of homes in Rhode Island and Connecticut, could suffer “irreparable harm” unless construction was allowed to continue for now.
Work was paused by an order on Aug 22, despite being 80% finished.
Orsted said in a statement issued after the decision that it would resume construction “as soon as possible.” The company’s American Depository Receipts rose as much as 10%.
Revolution Wind LLC, co-owned by Orsted and Global Infrastructure Partners, claimed in the suit that President Donald Trump’s administration violated its constitutional right to due process by abruptly blocking construction.
The company also claimed the stop-work order violated federal law because it was “arbitrary and capricious”, following years of planning and coordination with the US government.
US District Judge Royce Lamberth issued an preliminary injunction after concluding that Revolution Wind was likely to win the case.
The judge, an appointee of former President Ronald Reagan, also said the company is “likely to suffer irreparable harm” without an injunction, siding with the venture’s key argument.
Maintaining the status quo “is in the public interest”, the judge said.
A White House spokesperson said the ruling “will not be the final say on the matter”.
“President Trump was elected with a resounding mandate to end Joe Biden’s war on American energy and restore our country’s energy dominance,” Anna Kelly said in a statement.
Since taking office in January, Trump has issued a flurry of orders designed to stymie the US offshore wind business.
The president has long despised the industry, claiming that massive wind turbines kill birds, cause cancer and drive whales “crazy”. — Bloomberg
