New York Attorney General Letitia James sued the Trump administration after the Interior Department ordered a Dec. 22 suspension of construction on the Empire Wind and Sunrise Wind offshore projects off Long Island. James says both projects passed years of safety and security reviews and that the pause is arbitrary and threatens New York’s economy, energy grid and jobs. The Interior Department cites radar "clutter" from turbine blades as a national security concern; developers Equinor and Ørsted and the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island have also filed lawsuits. A federal judge recently vacated a Jan. 20, 2025 executive order that paused wind approvals, and the administration issued the stop-work order on East Coast projects days later.
New York Sues Trump Administration Over Halt To Offshore Wind Projects Off Long Island
New York Attorney General Letitia James filed federal lawsuits on Friday challenging the Trump administration's Dec. 22 order that suspended construction on two major offshore wind projects off Long Island — Empire Wind and Sunrise Wind — projects that together were expected to provide power to more than 1 million homes in the state.
In complaints filed in federal court in Washington, James called the Interior Department's suspension, issued for national security reasons, arbitrary and unjustified. She argued the projects have already passed more than a decade of security, safety and environmental reviews by federal, state and local authorities and that pausing work now threatens New York’s economy, its energy grid and thousands of jobs.
“New Yorkers deserve clean, reliable energy, good-paying jobs, and a government that follows the law,” James said. “This reckless decision puts workers, families, and our climate goals at risk.”
The Interior Department and its Bureau of Ocean Energy Management — both named as defendants in the litigation — declined to comment because of the pending cases. The department previously said turbine blade rotation and movement can create radar interference, known as “clutter,” which may obscure legitimate moving targets or produce false signals.
Project Status and Developers
Empire Wind, developed by Equinor, lies about 14 miles (22.5 kilometers) southeast of Long Island and was projected to power more than 500,000 homes. Equinor has said the project is roughly 60% complete. Sunrise Wind, developed by Ørsted, sits about 30 miles (48 kilometers) east of Montauk and was expected to power about 600,000 homes; Ørsted has reported it is roughly 45% complete.
Both developers have filed their own legal challenges to the suspension. The states of Connecticut and Rhode Island also brought separate lawsuits contesting the Interior Department’s order.
Legal And Political Context
James previously led a coalition of attorneys general from 17 states and Washington, D.C., in challenging a Jan. 20, 2025 executive order that paused approvals, permits and loans for wind projects nationwide. A federal judge in Massachusetts vacated that executive order last month; days after that ruling, the Trump administration issued the stop-work directive affecting East Coast offshore wind projects.
President Trump has publicly criticized offshore wind projects as unsightly, costly and harmful to wildlife, while promoting fossil fuels over renewables for electricity generation. The litigation now sets the stage for a larger legal battle over the role of offshore wind in U.S. energy policy and the balance between national security concerns and clean-energy development.
What’s next: The federal courts will consider the merits of the challenges and whether construction may resume while litigation proceeds.
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