A US district court judge has denied a Trump administration request to delay judgement in its case against Equinor’s 810MW Empire Wind, pending a further Bureau of Ocean Energy Management decision affecting the project.
The Washington, D.C. court ruled: “The government’s concern about potential future actions is too speculative, at this stage, for considerations of judicial economy to weigh in its favour.”
The court is currently considering summary judgement on the administration’s 22 December stop-work order on the project after court issued an injunction against enforcement of the order in January.
Equinor resumed work on the array following the injunction.
The government had wanted the court to pause determining its judgement while discussions continued between the government and the developer.
“Should BOEM, Empire Wind, and the Department of War be able to identify feasible mitigation measures to address the national security concerns, it is likely the parties would be able to explore a resolution of the present complaints beyond litigation,” the government argued.
“Conversely, if BOEM takes a new action impacting the Empire Wind Project, it would likely affect the parties’ positions and contentions in this case.”
The court disagreed, and ruled that the government had not met the burden to justify a stay.