Good news for offshore wind power in the USA: a judge overturns President Trump’s executive order blocking the approval of new projects.
His second term in office had barely begun when US President Donald Trump set about implementing his campaign promises. One of these was the abolition of offshore wind energy. As a result of his “wind order”, all permits and approval procedures for new wind power projects were revoked – wrongly, as has now been decided in court.
Federal Judge Patti Saris of the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts upheld the lawsuit brought by 17 states and the District of Columbia. They had filed a joint lawsuit in May against the President’s comprehensive ban when Trump ordered a halt to construction of Equinor’s Empire Wind 1 offshore wind farm off the coast of New York.
Saris has now declared the “wind order” issued in January to be unlawful and lifted the indefinite suspension. The judge described it as “arbitrary and unjustified”. The Trump administration had neither justified the necessity of the ban nor taken into account the legitimate interests of the states and project participants, she said. There is no reasonable connection between the superficial justification for the ban and its immense scope.
According to the court decision, the indefinite halt to the expansion of wind power violates the provision of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), according to which authorities must conclude matters within a reasonable period of time. Forcing them to take no action is unlawful. However, the repeal “only” covers section two of the order. Section one, which suspended all activities relating to the leasing of land for wind turbines, remains in force for the time being.
Industry can breathe a sigh of relief
The decision allowed the industry to breathe a sigh of relief. Liz Burdock, CEO of the non-profit organization Oceantic Network, called it “welcome news”, not only for the many workers in offshore wind energy, but also for the relief of the electricity grid and the reduction of “skyrocketing” electricity prices. Wind power offers reliable and affordable energy for millions of American families.
There had already been good news for the industry in September: The Ørsted “Revolution Wind” project off the coast of Rhode Island, whose completion was about to be halted by a “stop work” order from Trump, was able to continue after a court ruling. Trump’s order was “arbitrary and capricious”, it says – similar to the current reasoning. “Revolution Wind” should be able to supply 350,000 households with electricity in future.
