{"id":34079,"date":"2026-01-29T00:28:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T08:28:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/with-vineyard-wind-ruling-four-of-five-offshore-wind-projects-win-relief-from-trump-freeze\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T00:28:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T08:28:14","slug":"with-vineyard-wind-ruling-four-of-five-offshore-wind-projects-win-relief-from-trump-freeze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/with-vineyard-wind-ruling-four-of-five-offshore-wind-projects-win-relief-from-trump-freeze\/","title":{"rendered":"With Vineyard Wind ruling, four of five offshore wind projects win relief from Trump freeze"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech\">\n    <button class=\"text-to-speech__button button\"><br \/>\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"text-to-speech__button__icon\" src=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/static\/img\/play.svg?500116090725\" alt=\"-\"><br \/>\n        Listen to the article<br \/>\n        <span class=\"text-to-speech__button__audio-length\">4 min<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech__controls\">\n        <audio controls=\"\" class=\"js-text-to-speech\" preload=\"none\"><source src=\"https:\/\/text-to-speech.divecdn.com\/newspost\/810746\/2026-01-28_17.34.34\/vineyard-offshore-wind-four-projects-win-relief.wav\" type=\"audio\/mp3\"><\/source><\/audio><\/p>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech__controls__text\">\n            This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\">feedback<\/a>.\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Dive Brief:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>The 800-MW Vineyard Wind project offshore Massachusetts can resume construction,\u00a0a federal judge ruled Tuesday, in another setback to the Trump administration\u2019s efforts to halt offshore wind development with a Dec. 22 stop work order.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Vineyard Wind is the fourth <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.utilitydive.com\/news\/judge-grants-another-injunction-to-offshore-developer-amid-trumps-war-on\/809474\/\" target=\"_blank\">offshore wind project to receive an injunction<\/a> against the stop work orders, which cited classified national security concerns as the reason for the pause<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>. A fifth case is pending.<\/li>\n<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Vineyard Wind said after the order was issued, it \u201crepeatedly\u201d reached out to confer with the relevant government agencies \u201cto forge a path forward without litigation,\u201d but that those agencies \u201crefused to discuss the supposedly new information about national security impacts or what Vineyard Wind might do to mitigate them.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Dive Insight:<\/h3>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Vineyard Wind\u2019s developer says the project is 95% complete and partially operational \u2013 already delivering power to the grid. In its stop work order to the project, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.boem.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/renewable-energy\/state-activities\/BOEM%20Vineyard%20Suspension%20Letter.pdf?VersionId=fjS0RXlwQMRGj._l1DSaZOPTpcvkP6HM\" target=\"_blank\">gave its developers permission<\/a> to continue activities necessary for power generation<strong> <\/strong>but not more construction.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Judge Brian Murphy with the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted Vineyard Wind a stay against the stop work order during a Tuesday hearing.\u00a0The preliminary injunction follows similar rulings in cases brought by Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, Revolution Wind and Empire Wind. Sunrise Wind is still awaiting a decision in court.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>The Department of the Interior, which oversees the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management,\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.utilitydive.com\/news\/trump-halts-offshore-wind-projects-interior-burgum\/808508\/\" target=\"_blank\">said at the time that last month\u2019s stop work order<\/a> was prompted by \u201c<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>national security risks\u201d identified in \u201crecently completed classified reports.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Interior said the pause would give it, along with the Defense Department and other relevant government agencies, \u201ctime to work with leaseholders and state partners to assess the possibility of mitigating the national security risks posed by these projects.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Dominion Energy, which is building the 2.6 GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind,\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.utilitydive.com\/news\/judge-grants-another-injunction-to-offshore-developer-amid-trumps-war-on\/809474\/\" target=\"_blank\">also accused the government <\/a>of refusing to disclose the nature of the national security concerns behind the stop work order.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Vineyard Wind said in a court filing that the stop work order was costing it $2 million a day in direct and indirect costs and it was in danger of missing an important construction window if it didn\u2019t receive relief by Friday.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cThe remaining construction requires a specialized vessel that is available only until March 31, 2026,\u201d Vineyard Wind said, and if an order had come any later than Jan. 30, there would not have been \u201csufficient time to complete the Project before the vessel departs.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cThe inability to timely complete construction of the Project in turn jeopardizes the revenues and financing necessary for the Project to remain viable, with resulting financial consequences from which Vineyard Wind likely could not recover,\u201d it said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Vineyard Wind is a joint venture between Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners being developed offshore Massachusetts. At the time of the stop work order, it was capable of producing 572 MW and had been delivering power to the state for almost a year, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, D, said <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mass.gov\/news\/governor-healey-responds-to-trump-administration-stop-work-order-for-vineyard-wind\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>in a Dec. 22 statement<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Vineyard Wind had also objected to the Trump administration\u2019s refusal to allow the project to install replacement blades on 10 already constructed towers which stood bare at the time of the stop work order, posing a safety risk from factors like lightning strikes, the project alleged.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0Vineyard Wind was subject to controversy in July 2024 after a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.utilitydive.com\/news\/vineyard-wind-blade-failure-debris-nantucket-suspended\/721814\/\" target=\"_blank\">blade failed and detached from its turbine<\/a>, scattering fiberglass in the ocean that washed up on Nantucket beaches.<\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>In a <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vineyardwind.com\/press-releases\/2026\/1\/27-all-activities-resume\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Jan. 27 release<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> following Murphy\u2019s ruling, Vineyard Wind said, \u201cAs the legal process proceeds, Vineyard Wind will continue to work with the Administration to understand the matters raised in the Order.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/vineyard-offshore-wind-four-projects-win-relief\/810746\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">This article was originally posted at Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] Listen to the article 4 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Dive &#8230; <a title=\"With Vineyard Wind ruling, four of five offshore wind projects win relief from Trump freeze\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/with-vineyard-wind-ruling-four-of-five-offshore-wind-projects-win-relief-from-trump-freeze\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about With Vineyard Wind ruling, four of five offshore wind projects win relief from Trump freeze\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[457],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-dive","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34079"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34079\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}