Every single offshore wind project halted by the Trump administration has now been cleared to resume by federal judges, delivering a decisive victory for clean energy and the rule of law.
⚖️ The Clean Sweep
Work on a multi-billion dollar windfarm off the coast of New York is set to resume this week after federal judges blocked a stop-work order imposed by the Trump administration on "national security" grounds.
The ruling means that all the wind projects halted in December 2025 have now been overturned by the courts — a complete legal defeat for the administration's attempt to freeze America's offshore wind industry.
Three of the affected windfarms were given the green light to resume last week. The latest ruling applies to Ørsted's Sunrise project off Long Island — a $3.9 billion investment that's already 45% complete and slated to power hundreds of thousands of homes by October 2026.
💨 What Was at Stake
In December 2025, the Trump administration issued an emergency order halting construction on four major offshore wind projects along the East Coast, citing vague "national security concerns" related to shipping lanes and radar interference.
Environmental groups and energy companies immediately challenged the order as politically motivated — an attempt to block renewable energy development under the guise of security.
Projects that were frozen:
- 🌊 Sunrise Wind (Ørsted): 880 MW capacity, Long Island, NY — $3.9bn investment
- 🌊 Revolution Wind (Ørsted): 704 MW, Rhode Island/Connecticut — $2.8bn
- 🌊 South Fork Wind (Ørsted/Eversource): 132 MW, New York — $1.6bn
- 🌊 Vineyard Wind (Avangrid): 800 MW, Massachusetts — $3.2bn
Combined, these projects represent over $11 billion in investment and enough clean electricity to power 1.5 million American homes.
🏛️ What the Courts Said
Federal judges rejected the administration's arguments across the board.
In the Sunrise Wind ruling this week, the judge found that the Department of Defense's "national security" claims were not supported by evidence and that the economic harm to the companies and coastal communities outweighed any speculative security concerns.
The ruling echoed previous decisions on the other three projects: all found that the administration had failed to demonstrate an actual threat and that halting the projects would cause irreparable economic and environmental harm.
Legal experts noted that the courts are essentially saying: "Show us the receipts." If national security is genuinely at risk, provide classified briefings to the court. The administration never did.
🔨 Back to Work
Ørsted announced it would "restart impacted activities immediately" on the Sunrise Wind project.
Construction crews will return to the site off Long Island to continue installing the 84 massive wind turbines — each taller than the Statue of Liberty — that will generate clean electricity for 600,000 New York homes.
With the project already 45% complete before the halt, the company says it's confident in hitting the October 2026 completion target, assuming no further political interference.
The other three projects will also ramp up operations in the coming weeks, getting back on schedule after a two-month freeze that cost developers tens of millions in delays and legal fees.
💼 Economic Impact: Jobs and Investment
The resumption of these projects brings immediate job security for thousands of workers:
- ⚙️ 4,500 direct construction jobs across the four projects
- 🏗️ 7,000+ indirect jobs in manufacturing, logistics, engineering
- 🔧 500+ permanent operations jobs once projects are complete
East Coast ports that were investing in offshore wind infrastructure — New Bedford (MA), New London (CT), Port Jefferson (NY) — can now move forward with confidence, knowing the industry won't be arbitrarily shut down.
"These are good-paying union jobs," said one construction worker at the Sunrise project. "We were told to go home in December with no explanation. Now we're back, and we're going to finish what we started."
🌍 Climate Impact: Cutting Carbon at Scale
Once all four projects are complete by late 2026:
- 📉 2.5 GW of clean electricity capacity added to the grid
- 🏠 1.5 million homes powered by offshore wind
- 🚗 4 million tons of CO₂ avoided annually — equivalent to taking 850,000 cars off the road
- 🌊 Zero water consumption, zero air pollution — unlike coal or gas plants
For context, 2.5 GW is enough to power the entire state of Rhode Island with clean energy.
🗳️ Political Fallout
The court rulings are a political embarrassment for the Trump administration, which has made opposition to wind energy a signature issue.
Environmental groups celebrated the decisions:
"The courts have spoken clearly: you can't stop clean energy with bogus national security claims. The law matters, science matters, and these projects are moving forward." — League of Conservation Voters
State officials in New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut — where the projects are located — also welcomed the rulings, noting that offshore wind is critical to meeting state climate goals.
Legal observers noted that the administration's 0-for-4 record in court suggests the halt was never grounded in genuine security concerns but was instead an ideological attempt to block renewable energy.
🌊 The Bigger Picture: America's Offshore Wind Boom
These four projects are just the beginning of America's offshore wind industry:
- 🇺🇸 30 GW of offshore wind in development along East and West Coasts
- 💰 $100 billion+ in planned investment over the next decade
- ⚡ Enough capacity to power 10 million homes by 2030
While the U.S. was late to offshore wind compared to Europe and China, the industry is now rapidly scaling. These court victories remove a major political obstacle to that growth.
✅ Why This Matters
This story is bigger than four wind projects. It's about:
1. Rule of law: Courts defended due process and evidence-based policymaking over executive overreach.
2. Economic certainty: Investors now know that billion-dollar clean energy projects have legal protection from arbitrary political interference.
3. Climate action: America's offshore wind industry — critical to meeting climate goals — can move forward with confidence.
4. Worker power: Thousands of union workers kept their jobs and livelihoods.
In a polarized political environment, the courts stood firm: You can't halt renewable energy on a whim. Show evidence, or step aside.
⏰ What Happens Next
Construction resumes immediately across all four projects. Ørsted and other developers will work to make up for the two-month delay, though most projects are expected to still meet their original completion dates.
The Trump administration could appeal the rulings, but legal experts say higher courts are unlikely to overturn decisions that rest on clear failures to provide evidence.
More likely: the administration will shift tactics, perhaps trying regulatory changes or legislative action to slow offshore wind. But those approaches face their own legal and political obstacles.
For now, the wind turbines are spinning, the courts have spoken, and America's clean energy future just got a little brighter.
"We will restart impacted activities immediately. Our teams are ready to deliver clean, renewable energy to New York families." — Ørsted statement
Source: Positive News | Federal court rulings, February 2026