Sunrise Wind LLC has filed a legal complaint and a request for a preliminary injunction in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. This action challenges the order from the Trump administration issued on December 22, which paused construction on the nearly finished offshore wind project.
This move by the Ørsted-owned company intensifies the ongoing conflict between offshore wind developers and federal authorities, especially after Revolution Wind LLC took similar legal steps on January 1. Both projects were among five major East Coast initiatives ordered to stop work immediately due to classified national security concerns.
Empire Offshore Wind LLC, another project developer, has also filed a civil lawsuit in D.C. challenging the same order and seeking an injunction to allow construction to continue during the legal process. Equinor, the Norwegian energy company behind Empire Wind, labeled the suspension order as “unlawful” and warned it “threatens the progress of ongoing work with significant implications for the project.”
This legal action represents the latest chapter in the growing dispute between renewable energy developers and the Trump administration regarding offshore wind development along the East Coast.
At the time the suspension was issued, Sunrise Wind was 45% complete, with 44 of its 84 monopile foundations already installed and the offshore converter station constructed. The onshore electrical infrastructure was mostly finished, and near-shore export cables were already laid. The project was on schedule to begin generating power as soon as October 2026, with full operations expected in 2027 under a 25-year contract with New York State.
In its legal filing, Sunrise Wind stated that the lease suspension order “violates applicable law” and is causing “substantial harm” to the project. The company emphasized that it had secured all necessary local, state, and federal permits after a lengthy environmental and technical review process, which included extensive coordination with the U.S. Department of Defense’s Military Aviation and Installation Assurance Siting Clearinghouse to address potential national security concerns.
This consultation led to a formal agreement between the Department of War, the Department of the Air Force, and Sunrise Wind that outlined specific mitigation measures. Additional approvals came from the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and other federal agencies.
“Sunrise Wind has spent and committed billions of dollars relying on, and has complied with, a thorough review process,” the company stated.
The suspension now jeopardizes the delivery of what industry experts consider crucial grid infrastructure, especially as electricity demand rises. Once completed, the project is expected to provide affordable and stable power to nearly 600,000 homes, and experts warn that further delays could increase reliability risks for consumers.
According to Ørsted, the Sunrise Wind project has already created thousands of jobs in America across construction, operations, shipbuilding, and manufacturing, employing over 1,000 union workers who have collectively logged more than one million union labor hours. Sunrise Wind is part of Ørsted’s broader investment into U.S. energy generation, grid improvements, and port infrastructure, with a supply chain affecting more than 40 states.
The Trump administration justified the suspension by expressing concerns that large offshore wind turbines might disrupt radar systems. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum stated that the pause was needed to address “emerging national security risks, including the rapid evolution of adversary technologies and the vulnerabilities caused by large-scale offshore wind projects near our east coast population centers.”
This action has faced strong criticism from developers, labor unions, and industry groups, who point out that the paused projects passed national security and defense reviews under both the first Trump administration and the Biden administration. AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler described the action as “irresponsible policy that threatens to take America backward.”
As the legal proceedings move forward, Sunrise Wind expresses its desire for “constructive” engagement with the administration and other stakeholders to resolve the issue. The company views the lawsuit as a necessary measure to safeguard a project that has met all regulatory requirements and invested billions in U.S. jobs and infrastructure.
The outcome of this case may influence the future of offshore wind energy in the United States, where the development pipeline has already shrunk by over half in the past year, according to industry reports.