Opponents of offshore wind have launched a new lawsuit aimed at stopping Equinor’s 810MW Empire Wind.
The suit follows on from the Trump Administration’s move to reverse course and allow the project to proceed with construction.
The lawsuit was filed this week in US District Court in New Jersey against the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
It claims that the 19 May reversal of the 16 April stop-work order that paused construction on Empire Wind was “arbitrary, capricious or unreasonable”.
The plaintiffs, a collection of anti-offshore wind groups and fishing industry organisations, allege that the reversal violates the Administrative Procedure Act by “failing to offer a factual basis for the reinstatement”.
The plaintiffs are seeking the restoration of the April stop-work order.
An Empire Wind spokesperson told reNEWS: “Equinor signed its federal lease for Empire Wind in 2017. The project has undergone years of rigorous permitting and studies, and secured all necessary federal, state and local approvals to begin construction in 2024.
“We are aware of today’s filing but do not comment on pending litigation.”
Work on Empire Wind resumed last month.