US Government Sends Stop Work Order to All Offshore Wind Projects Under Construction

The US Department of Interior has paused the leases and suspended construction at all large-scale offshore wind projects currently under construction in the United States, citing ”national security risks identified by the Department of War in recently completed classified reports.”

The five projects have a combined capacity of 5.8 GW and include Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind-Commercial, Empire Wind 1, Revolution Wind, Sunrise Wind, and Vineyard Wind 1.

Empire Offshore Wind LLC (Empire), a subsidiary of Equinor, said that the company is complying with the notice received from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on 22 December.

The project is more than 60 per cent complete, with trenching, cable-laying and cable pulling ongoing on the US outer continental shelf, the developer said. In total, dozens of vessels, around 1,000 people, and more than a hundred companies in the US and globally have been working in coordination on the Empire Wind project. Empire warned that stop work order threatens the progress of these activities, and added that without a swift solution, there may be a significant impact to the project.

Revolution Wind LLC and Sunrise Wind LLC are also complying with the respective orders and are taking appropriate steps to suspend related activities in a manner that prevents impacts on health, safety, and the environment, Ørsted said, adding that they are evaluating all options to resolve the matter expeditiously, together with its partners. This includes engagement with BOEM and other permitting agencies, as well as the evaluation of potential legal proceedings, said Ørsted.

Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind are both in advanced stages of construction and will be ready to deliver power to American homes in 2026, with Revolution Wind expected to begin generating power in January.

Dominion Energy, the developer of the 2.6 GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, said that the order for a 90-day suspension of work ”will threaten grid reliability for some of the nation’s most important war fighting, AI, and civilian assets.”

”CVOW enjoys bipartisan support and is within months of generating a massive 2,600 megawatts to support the fastest growing part of America’s energy grid. This growth serves the largest concentration of critical infrastructure in the world,” Dominion Energy said in a statement.

In a response to the order, Oceantic Network’s CEO Liz Burdock described the move as ”another veiled attempt to hide the fact that the President [Trump] doesn’t like offshore wind.”

”The U.S. offshore wind industry has continuously worked with the Department of Defense to address national security concerns, and its own Clearinghouse has signed off on every offshore wind lease ahead of construction,” Burdock said.

”This latest attack follows recent industry court victories against the administration’s attempts to slow down offshore wind. Just two weeks ago, a federal judge vacated the Administration’s previous permitting pause, ruling it unlawful. Earlier this fall, a separate judge ordered an injunction against the administration’s Stop Work order against Revolution Wind, finding it unsubstantiated. This newest claim contradicts years of rigorous, interagency reviews, as these projects have already passed explicit clearances from the Department of Defense and the Pentagon before construction began.”