Trump Loses Second Case This Week Against Wind Power

A major offshore wind farm off Long Island just received court permission to resume construction—the second loss for President Trump on the topic this week. A federal judge in DC ruled Thursday that the Empire Wind project can restart work, deciding that the Norwegian company Equinor had shown it would face "irreparable harm" if a federally ordered pause remained in place, reports the Wall Street Journal. The decision from US District Judge Carl Nichols—a Trump appointee—comes days after the Danish firm Orsted won a similar ruling to resume work on its Revolution Wind project off Rhode Island and Connecticut.

Together, the court orders mark a significant legal setback for the administration's push to suspend leases for five East Coast wind projects. In December, the administration cited classified security risks in ordering a halt to the aforementioned two projects, as well as three others in New York state, Massachusetts, and Virginia, per the New York Times. Trump himself has made clear his disdain for wind power and has vowed that his administration will not approve any. The Equinor project was about 60% finished when work was halted, and the company said it would lose about $1 billion in contracts if it didn't continue.