Federal Judge Clears Orsted to Resume Work on Revolution Wind

Ørsted can resume work on its Revolution Wind offshore project, a federal judge in Washington DC has ruled, as reported by Reuters.

The ruling follows a lawsuit filed by the Danish wind power major against the U.S. federal government for a stop-work order that froze construction at the almost completed facility plus another one led by Ørsted, dubbed Sunrise Wind.

The administration cited national security grounds for its decision to suspend Revolution Wind, Sunrise Wind, and three other offshore wind projects last year. The Reuters report only mentions Revolution Wind as cleared to go on by the Washington DC judge.

Revolution Wind, which secured all required federal and state permits in 2023, following extensive reviews, is currently about 87% complete and has already installed all offshore foundations and 58 of 65 wind turbines.

Construction of the Sunrise Wind offshore project is also well advanced. Last year, Sunrise Wind said the offshore wind farm was nearly 45% complete, with 44 of 84 monopile foundations already installed along with the offshore converter station. Onshore electrical infrastructure is largely finished, and near-shore export cables have been laid, the Ørsted subsidiary also said.

Before the lease suspension order was issued, Sunrise Wind expected the project to begin generating electricity as early as October 2026. Once fully operational in 2027, the wind farm is contracted to supply power to nearly 600,000 homes under a 25-year agreement with the State of New York.

Norway’s Equinor was also affected by the stop-work orders issued by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in December, at the Empire Wind 1 facility, which, like Ørsted’s projects, is well advanced, wat 60% completion. The Norwegian company threatened to sue but not made this step yet, instead saying it would have to cancel Empire Wind 1 unless the stop-work order was lifted.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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