US judge clears the way for Revolution Wind restart

Work will restart at Revolution Wind on the US East Coast after a US federal judge issued a preliminary injunction of the stop-work imposed by the Trump Administration.

Judge Royce Lambreth, US District Court Judge for the District of Columbia, granted the motion for the preliminary injunction on 22 September that will allow work to continue on the offshore windfarm project off the coasts of Rhode Island and Connecticut.

The judge’s action came one month after the Trump Administration had issued a stop-work order halting the 80% complete Revolution Wind project to review unidentified “concerns”.

The 704-MW Revolution Wind project is a 50/50 joint venture between Ørsted and Global Infrastructure Partners’ Skyborn Renewables.

The project commenced offshore construction following the final federal approval from BOEM last year. The project is 80% complete, with all offshore foundations installed and 45 out of 65 wind turbines installed.

The decision by the judge was praised by US Representative John B Larson (D-Connecticut). “The Trump Administration’s baseless order halting Revolution Wind was set to put hundreds of residents out of work and saddle Connecticut ratepayers with US$500 million in additional costs every year,” said Congressman Larson.

In a press statement, Ørsted said "Revolution Wind will continue to seek to work collaboratively with the US administration and other stakeholders toward a prompt resolution.

"Revolution Wind will resume impacted construction work as soon as possible, with safety as the top priority."