For Immediate Release: January 15, 2025
Media Contact: [email protected]
BALTIMORE – Earlier today, a U.S. judge in D.C. court allowed Empire Wind to resume work after granting their injunction request against the administration’s lease suspension and stop construction order issued December 22, 2025. Despite the government’s argument that new national security concerns from a recent classified study prompted the action, District of Columbia Judge Nichols granted the injunction because of the lack of notice given to the project before the order was issued and the successful demonstration of irreparable harm to the project. Together, these outweighed the Government’s claim of the potential risk to public safety interests during construction, citing Natural Resources Defense Council v. Winter, 8:07-cv-00335. Additionally, the judge noted the Administration failed to respond to most of Empire Wind’s claims, nor did they contest that the construction pause was an arbitrary and capricious action.
Empire Wind 1, which is currently 60% complete, is set to provide 810 MW of power generation to New York and has created more than 2,000 jobs to build the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, sparked investments, and kindled the construction of at least eight new vessels from Pennsylvania, Louisiana and Mississippi shipyards. To build this project, the developer purchased export cables from a South Carolina factory and cable components from Upstate New York that prompted the construction of a new factory—microcosms of a supply chain that stretches across 30 states. Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind-Commercial (2,586 MW), Sunrise Wind (924 MW), and Vineyard Wind 1 (800 MW) are still subject to the construction pause and lease suspension.
In response, Oceantic Network has released the following statement from CEO Liz Burdock:
“Oceantic welcomes today’s ruling that allows Empire Wind to once again advance toward delivering reliable, affordable power to 500,000 homes and supporting good-paying jobs to communities across New York. Empire Wind is critical to securing New York’s electric grid, stabilizing rising energy costs for local communities, creating jobs, and achieving energy independence, underscoring the importance of building out America’s energy infrastructure to meet rising electricity demand.”
There are significant economic consequences associated with pausing the construction of the five U.S. projects during installation:
- Once operational, the five projects are expected to bring 8 GW of much-needed power generation online, enough for 2.5 million homes, and to help the states keep rising power costs in check.
- Stopping these projects means $30 billion of fully permitted economic activity has been paused and threatens more than $11 billion in supply chain assets that have spun up to support construction.
- Stopping these projects threatens at least 12,000 American jobs directly supporting their buildout.
- Construction of these projects has sparked more than 1,000 supply chain contracts to 675 unique American businesses across 41 states, spanning domestic shipyards, upgraded ports, and a massive resurgence in American steel. More than 24% are coming from Gulf suppliers.
- Building and maintaining these projects has initiated at least 40 new vessel orders or specialized retrofits, totaling nearly $2 billion in activity at American steel mills and shipyards.
This latest ruling follows recent industry court victories against the administration’s attempts to slow down offshore wind. Just days ago, a federal judge allowed Revolution Wind to resume work after granting their injunction request against the administration’s lease suspension and stop construction order issued December 22, 2025, citing a lack of urgency to resolve the security concerns which didn’t indicate an emergency suspension was necessary. In December, a federal judge vacated the Administration’s previous permitting pause, ruling it unlawful.
Additional Information:
For more information or to arrange an interview with an Oceantic spokesperson, contact us at [email protected].
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At Oceantic Network, we envision a thriving offshore energy industry powering strong economies. Offshore wind energy is the gateway to a host of other ocean renewables, including green hydrogen, wave energy, offshore solar, and more. Our collaborative member network advances the offshore renewable energy market and builds a robust supply chain of local companies. For more than a decade, Oceantic has grown alongside industry, setting the pace for an expanded view of what offshore renewable energy can deliver towards our nation’s energy mix. For more information about Oceantic membership, products and services, visit our websiteor follow us on LinkedIn.
