A federal judge has granted Norwegian energy company Equinor ASA the right to resume construction on its Empire Wind offshore wind project off the coast of New York, delivering a significant legal victory for the renewable energy developer amid ongoing
disputes over federal policy and national security concerns.
The ruling, issued on January 15, 2026, by U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington, D.C., allows Equinor to restart work on the multi-billion-dollar Empire Wind project, which had been paused by a government suspension order late last year. The decision comes as part of a broader legal battle between offshore wind developers and federal authorities over construction halts affecting multiple wind projects along the U.S. East Coast.
Background: Suspension and Legal Challenge
In late December 2025, the U.S. Department of the Interior issued a stop-work order affecting five major offshore wind projects, including Empire Wind, citing national security concerns particularly potential interference with military radar and defense systems. Empire Wind, which is being developed solely by Equinor in federal waters of the New York Bight, had already achieved substantial progress, with roughly 60% of construction completed at the time of the suspension.
Empire Wind was designed to be a cornerstone of New York’s offshore wind strategy, expected to eventually produce enough clean energy to power approximately 500,000 homes once operational.
Equinor responded to the suspension by filing a civil lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia at the beginning of January 2026. The company argued the suspension order was unlawful and that halting work would cause irreparable harm to the project’s timeline, financing, and workforce commitments unless the court intervened.
Federal Court Decision
Judge Nichols ruled in favor of Equinor’s request for a preliminary injunction, effectively lifting the federal pause on Empire Wind so construction can continue while the underlying lawsuit proceeds. In his ruling, Nichols said that the government had not adequately shown that its national security concerns outweighed the harm that a prolonged halt could cause to the project’s viability.
Nichols emphasized that delays could jeopardize access to rare and specialized vessels required for offshore wind construction, which are limited in supply worldwide. Should those resources become unavailable because of idled activity, Empire Wind could face insurmountable practical and financial challenges. For that reason, he determined that continued construction was in the public interest and necessary to prevent “irreparable harm.”
Equinor Response and Next Steps
Equinor welcomed the ruling, stating that the company plans to “safely restart construction activities that were halted during the suspension period” while continuing engagement with U.S. federal agencies to address any security concerns responsibly. The legal fight over the suspension order itself will continue, with the judge planning to review the merits of Equinor’s challenge on an expedited schedule.
The decision marks a second federal court win in recent days for the offshore wind industry. Earlier in the week, another federal judge allowed Danish developer Orsted to resume work on its Revolution Wind project near Rhode Island and Connecticut after a separate challenge to the same federal suspension order.
Broader Impact on U.S. Offshore Wind Development
The Empire Wind case has become a flashpoint in the ongoing debate over the future of offshore wind in the United States. The federal suspension order drew strong criticism from state officials, industry leaders, and renewable energy advocates who argue that the halt undermines U.S. climate goals, energy security, and economic benefits tied to domestic clean energy production.
New York State, for example, has been actively pursuing aggressive clean energy targets, with Empire Wind and other projects like Sunrise Wind playing critical roles in meeting renewable energy benchmarks. The suspension order and subsequent legal challenges have raised concerns that delays could disrupt state grid planning, job creation, and investment flows tied to offshore wind infrastructure.
Critics of the federal pause have also noted that extensive environmental and regulatory reviews had already been conducted before construction began, including environmental impact assessments and consultations with federal agencies on maritime safety, wildlife protection, and coastal use. They argue that the late-stage suspension was both unprecedented and inadequately explained, particularly as government officials cited “classified” security concerns without public disclosure of specific risks.
National Security Debate
Federal authorities have defended the suspension as a necessary measure to ensure that offshore wind infrastructure does not pose unforeseen risks to national defense systems, particularly radar and military communications. However, in court proceedings, government representatives have been pressed to justify these claims with concrete evidence, with judges expressing skepticism over the administration’s ability to substantiate broad security assertions.
The Equinor ruling, therefore, reflects a judicial assessment that the balance of harms between speculative or undisclosed security concerns and
tangible economic and operational risks favors allowing construction to proceed while the legal process unfolds.
What Comes Next
With the injunction in place, Equinor is expected to accelerate restoration of construction activity at the Empire Wind site including offshore turbine installation, cable laying, and associated marine operations. The court will hear further legal arguments on whether the federal suspension order itself should be overturned permanently.
At the same time, other offshore wind developers whose projects were caught in the broader federal pause including Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind and Vineyard Wind are pursuing their own legal challenges in different jurisdictions, keeping the national debate over wind energy policy at the forefront of U.S. energy and environmental discourse.
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