On December 22, 2025, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issued short and nearly identical lease suspension orders that halted construction on five utility-scale offshore wind projects off Virginia, New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, alleging new and classified national security threats. These suspensions sparked an immediate wave of litigation as the affected developers sought court orders that would allow them to resume work and keep to their carefully scripted construction timelines. Six weeks later, the dust has settled on a clean sweep for the offshore wind industry: all five projects won injunctions from four different judges in three different jurisdictions, appointed by one Democratic and two Republican presidents. Now that all construction of these projects is back on track, what lessons can we learn from this episode?
Empire Wind 1 Stop-Work Order Targets Offshore Wind but Raises Questions for Other Industries
On Wednesday, April 16, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to order Equinor to “stop work” on its 812 megawatt Empire Wind 1 project just outside of New York Harbor. This project is a major component of New York’s plan to meet its 2040 carbon zero goal, and received all of its federal approvals in 2023 and 2024 after more than four years of intensive federal, state, and local environmental review. Equinor began active construction almost immediately after receiving full permitting approval in early 2024 and resumed marine activities in Spring 2025.