A joint venture of Ørsted, the world’s largest offshore wind developer, has challenged in court the Trump Administration’s lease suspension order to halt work on the Revolution Wind offshore wind project off the U.S. East Coast.
Revolution Wind LLC, a 50/50 joint venture between Global Infrastructure Partners’ Skyborn Renewables and Ørsted, filed a supplemental complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, challenging the lease suspension order issued on December 22, 2025 by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), to be followed by a motion for a preliminary injunction.
On December 22, the U.S. Department of the Interior paused leases for five offshore wind projects, due to national security concerns, said Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum.
The projects Vineyard Wind 1, Revolution Wind, CVOW – Commercial, Sunrise Wind, and Empire Wind 1 were paused by the U.S. Administration, which threw another curveball to developers of offshore wind projects, many of which are in advanced stage of development.
Revolution Wind, which secured all required federal and state permits in 2023, following extensive reviews, is currently about 87% complete and has already installed all offshore foundations and 58 of 65 wind turbines.
Sunrise Wind LLC, a separate project and wholly-owned subsidiary of Ørsted that also received a lease suspension order on December 22, continues to evaluate all options to resolve the matter, including engagement with relevant agencies and stakeholders and considering legal proceedings, the Denmark-based offshore wind giant said on Friday.
Last week, Norway’s Equinor suspended work on the Empire Wind 1 project following the stop-work order issued by the U.S. Administration.
The Trump Administration has made no secret of its attitude to wind energy, and especially offshore wind. Since President Trump took office, the federal government has clamped down on wind energy projects through stop-work orders and subsidy removals.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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