Particle.news

Judge Lets Vineyard Wind Resume Work in Fourth Rebuff of Offshore Wind Freeze

The court said Interior’s pause, grounded in classified Pentagon radar concerns, was not adequately justified given the project’s status and the record presented.

Overview

  • U.S. District Judge Brian E. Murphy stayed BOEM’s Dec. 22 stop‑work order, clearing the 95% complete Vineyard Wind project to restart construction while litigation continues.
  • Four of the five paused East Coast projects—Vineyard Wind, Revolution Wind, Empire Wind and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind—now have injunctions; Sunrise Wind remains on hold with a Feb. 2 hearing.
  • Murphy flagged a key inconsistency, noting the government let 44 operating turbines keep generating power while blocking completion of the remaining 18.
  • Developers and Massachusetts officials detailed irreparable harms, including roughly $2 million in daily losses and the risk of losing a scarce installation vessel needed to finish work by March.
  • Interior has cited a classified Defense Department report on radar interference, but multiple judges reviewing confidential filings have found the government’s explanations insufficient to warrant a construction halt.