Rigorously reviewed clean energy projects should be allowed to move forward, deliver people affordable power, and battle one of the greatest threats to national security – climate change. Photo: Ecophotography
January 12, 2026 (Boston, MA) – A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has rejected a stop work order issued by the Trump administration that sought to halt a nearly complete offshore wind development off the coast of Rhode Island. Orsted, the developer of Revolution Wind, sued the Trump administration after the Department of the Interior announced it was pausing leases for offshore wind projects along the East Coast citing national security concerns. Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) issued the following statement in response.
“How many times does this administration have to lose in court before it stops trying to block affordable clean energy,” said Kate Sinding Daly, senior vice president for law and policy CLF. “Our courts have already made clear that permits grounded in law cannot be undone on political whims. Rigorously reviewed clean energy projects should be allowed to move forward, deliver people affordable power, and battle one of the greatest threats to national security – climate change.”
Judge Royce Lamberth issued the injunction and concluded that Orsted would suffer irreparable harm if the stop work order was allowed to continue. Revolution Wind will provide power for up to 350,000 homes in Connecticut and Rhode Island using affordable clean energy.
Developers of other offshore wind projects included in the stop work order have separately sued the administration.
In December, a federal judge in Boston rejected the implementation of the Trump administration’s government-wide ban on new wind energy projects. CLF and other environmental groups filed a legal brief in State of New York v. Trump in support of state and industry efforts to overturn the moratorium.
CLF experts are available for further comment.
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