Empire Wind Project Granted Temporary Injunction to Restart Construction

A federal judge yesterday issued a temporary injunction allowing Empire Wind, the offshore wind project off the coast of Long Island, to resume construction after the Trump administration abruptly suspended work there in late December. In court documents, the developer had stated that the project would likely be terminated if it was not allowed to resume work by Friday because the suspension of work would disrupt its construction schedule, increase costs, and form an existential threat to the project’s financing.

In issuing his decision, the federal judge said the suspension would cause “irreparable harm” to the project. The injunction allows the Empire Wind project to continue while its case proceeds through the court system, but it is not a final ruling. The Empire Wind project is currently around 60 percent complete and has cost $4 billion to date. The company was granted a lease from the federal government in 2017 and plans to power 500,000 homes through the project, building 54 wind turbines. The project has also created more than 1,000 jobs in the area, and will ultimately help revitalize the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, a port facility in Sunset Park.

“This ruling sends a clear message: attempts to halt Empire Wind put real workers, real communities, and New York’s energy future at risk. Empire Wind is exactly the kind of project New York should be fighting for, providing thousands of good, union jobs while building cleaner, more affordable energy in our state,” said Esther Rosario, Executive Director of Climate Jobs NY. Read more in Inside Climate News!