New York Attorney General Files Lawsuits Against Trump Admin’s Stop-Work Orders for Empire Wind, Sunrise Wind

New York Attorney General (AG) Letitia James has filed two lawsuits against what the AG says is “the Trump administration’s unlawful attempt to halt construction” on Empire Wind 1 and Sunrise Wind, two large-scale offshore wind projects being built in the US federal waters off New York.

In the lawsuits, filed simultaneously for the two projects in the US District Court for the District of Columbia on 9 January, Attorney General James argues that the stop-work orders fail to explain the federal government’s change in position and to provide a genuine justification for the suspension. This makes the orders “arbitrary and capricious, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act”, says the New York AG, whose lawsuit is asking the court to declare the stop-work orders unlawful and block their enforcement.

Pointing out that the two offshore wind farms are expected to power more than one million New York homes, the Attorney General says pausing them could threaten the state’s economy and energy grid, as well as the jobs created by the projects, which currently employ thousands of workers and have already invested billions of US dollars.

Furthermore, the New York AG emphasised that both Empire Wind 1 and Sunrise Wind had undergone more than a decade of extensive review by federal, state, and local authorities, including environmental impact analysis, public comment periods, and coordination with numerous federal agencies, including the US Department of Defense.

As reported in December 2025, the DOI cited “national security risks inherent to large-scale offshore wind projects” as the reason it suspended construction on all major offshore wind projects in the US.

“[Unclassified] reports from the U.S. Government have long found that the movement of massive turbine blades and the highly reflective towers create radar interference called ‘clutter.’ The clutter caused by offshore wind projects obscures legitimate moving targets and generates false targets in the vicinity of the wind projects”, the DOI said on 22 December 2025. “The Department of Energy in a 2024 report stated that a radar’s threshold for false alarm detection can be increased to reduce some clutter, but an increased detection threshold could cause the radar to ‘miss actual targets’.”

“New Yorkers deserve clean, reliable energy, good-paying jobs, and a government that follows the law”, said Attorney General James. “These projects were carefully reviewed and already under construction when the federal government pulled the plug without explanation. This reckless decision puts workers, families, and our climate goals at risk, and my office is taking action to stop it.”

Halting construction risks delaying or permanently derailing the projects, jeopardising contracts, local tax revenue, workforce training programs, and long-term economic development tied to New York’s clean energy transition, according to the New York AG.

Both developers recently announced that they were filing for a preliminary injunction in an effort to restart construction on their offshore wind farms. Equinor’s Empire Wind 1 is more than 60 per cent complete, and Ørsted’s Sunrise Wind has reached nearly 45 per cent of completion.

The 810 MW 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.

The offshore wind farm, located 25-48 kilometres (15-30 miles) southeast of Long Island, 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.

Located approximately 30 miles (approximately 48 kilometres) east of Montauk, Sunrise Wind will comprise 84 Siemens Gamesa 11 MW wind turbines and is expected to begin generating power in October 2026.     

The 924 MW Sunrise Wind, the first offshore wind project in the US to use a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) system, will connect to the state’s electricity grid at the Holbrook substation in Brookhaven, Suffolk County.

Ørsted and its Revolution Wind joint venture partner Skyborn Renewables have also filed for a preliminary injunction for their 704 MW offshore wind farm set to power Connecticut and Rhode Island, which was approximately 87 per cent complete at the time the stop-work order was issued and was expected to begin generating power this month.

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