Wind Energy – USA
Dominion Energy, the developer of one of the five offshore wind energy projects that received a stop-work order from the Trump administration, filed suit in District Court seeking an immediate injunction against the order.
At the same time, the governors of the four states impacted by the order sent a strongly worded letter to the Department of the Interior, saying they rejected the transparent pretext of new information impacting national security and demanded a classified briefing and retraction of the order.
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum on Monday ordered the five offshore wind projects currently under construction to immediately stop all offshore work, citing “national security concerns.”
Dominion Energy, in its civil action filed the following day, calls the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s order ‘arbitrary and capricious’. They called for an immediate injunction against the order and its enforcement, saying that the order “sets forth no rational basis, cannot be reconciled with BOEM’s own regulations and prior issued lease terms and approvals.”
Furthermore, they argue that the order is unconstitutional because it violates constitutional principles that restrict actions by the Executive Branch and also breaches the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.
The court filing says BOEM’s arbitrary and illegal order is fundamentally inconsistent with the legal framework. They assert the action is “sudden and baseless.”
Dominion Energy asserts the illegal order is causing serious, irreparable harm to the company and its customers. U.S. District Court Judge Jamar Walker set a hearing for Monday, December 29, regarding the request for a temporary restraining order.
At the same time, the governors of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and Rhode Island sent a letter to Secretary Bugum calling the order an irrational and erratic action. They rejected the assertions of national security concerns as a “transparent pretext,” demanding a briefing on the purported information and an immediate rescission of the suspension.
“The sudden emergence of a new ‘national security threat’ appears to be less a legitimate, rational finding of fact and more a pretextual excuse to justify a predetermined outcome consistent with the President’s frequently stated personal opposition to offshore wind,” the governors write in their letter.
They highlight that the states were not informed of any “purportedly news risks prior to these suspensions,” and that the action did not account for the states’ “substantial reliance interest.” They say the states’ economies depend on these approvals and reject the national security claims, saying the action risks a “national security and economic disaster.” They highlight the vital need for more electricity generation, the Trump administration’s policy of energy independence, and assert the order risks grid failure.
“Administrative actions, such as those you have taken here, cannot be based on undisclosed, secret rationales – especially not when thousands of jobs and vital energy projects are at stake,” the governors write. They demand a classified briefing for personnel to review this evidence and all information related to the rationale of the order.
Dominion Energy notes that this action is specific to its project but that there are four other projects that have related interests. Ørsted said on Tuesday that it would evaluate potential legal proceedings, while all of the companies said they were willing to work with BOEM and the Department of the Interior to address concerns and take further mitigation steps.
