Equinor Sues US Gov’t Over Empire Wind 1 Construction Halt

Equinor has filed a civil suit in the US District Court for the District of Columbia against the order that suspended construction on five offshore wind projects, including its Empire Wind 1, which is now more than 60 per cent complete.

As part of the case, Empire Offshore Wind LLC, an Equinor subsidiary that filed the civil suit on 2 January, plans to seek a preliminary injunction and allow construction to continue while the litigation proceeds, the company said.  

“While Empire continues to work closely with Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the other relevant authorities to find a prompt resolution to the matter, the order is in Equinor’s view unlawful and threatens the progress of ongoing work with significant implications for the project. The preliminary injunction filing is necessary to allow the project to continue as planned during this critical period of execution and avoid additional commercial and financing impacts that are likely to occur should the order remain effective”, Equinor stated in a press release on 2 January.

With the legal action, Equinor joins Dominion Energy and the joint venture between Ørsted and Skyborn Renewables, which also filed lawsuits over the stop-work order that was issued by the US Department of the Interior (DOI) on 22 December and halted their projects that are at an advanced stage of construction, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) and Revolution Wind.

FURTHER READING

• Ørsted-Skyborn JV Takes Legal Action Against US Gov’t Over Stop-Work Order; Seven Turbines Left to Install on Revolution Wind
• US Offshore Wind Developer Sues Gov’t Over Stop-Work Order
• US Government Sends Stop Work Order to All Offshore Wind Projects Under Construction

The 810 MW Empire Wind 1 has a contract with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to deliver electricity for New York and is the first offshore wind farm to connect to New York City’s grid.

As the DOI said the order to pause construction was issued to allow for a review of “national security risks identified by the Department of War in recently completed classified reports”, Equinor noted that since it executed its lease for Empire Wind in 2017, the developer had coordinated closely with numerous federal officials on national security reviews, including with the Department of War, and that the company complied with relevant national security related requirements identified as part of the regulatory process. 

“In addition, Empire meets regularly with officials charged with oversight of security issues for the project, including weekly meetings with the U.S. Coast Guard and other marine first responders”, the developer said.

Equinor also pointed out that Empire Wind Offshore Wind LLC invested over USD 4 billion (approximately EUR 3.4 billion) so far, of which USD 2.7 billion (approx. EUR 2.3 billion) has been drawn under the project financing. Empire Wind has, as of 30 September 2025, a gross book value of around USD 3.1 billion (approx. EUR 2.7 billion), including South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT) in Sunset Park, where Equinor will build Empire Wind’s operations and maintenance (O&M) facility. The company also noted that the project’s construction phase has put nearly 4,000 people to work, both within the lease area and through the revitalisation of the SBMT.

The stop-work order is not the first for the 810 MW project. Empire Wind 1 was the first project in the US on which construction was paused after the Trump administration took office. The project was first halted in April 2025, just as seabed preparation work was starting at the offshore construction site. The order was lifted the following month, and a few months later, Ørsted and Skyborn faced the same challenge with their Revolution Wind project.

Located 25-48 kilometres (15-30 miles) southeast of Long Island, Empire Wind 1 will comprise 54 Vestas 15 MW wind turbines and is planned to produce first power in late 2026, with full commissioning in 2027.

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