New York attorney general sues Trump administration over offshore wind project freeze

State Attorney General Letitia James said in legal challenges filed in federal court in Washington that the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Dec. 22 order suspending construction on the projects off Long Island, citing national security concerns, was arbitrary and unwarranted.

NEW YORK (AP) — New York’s attorney general sued the Trump administration on Friday over its decision to halt two major offshore wind projects expected to power more than 1 million homes in the state.

State Attorney General Letitia James said in legal challenges filed in federal court in Washington that the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Dec. 22 order suspending construction on the projects off Long Island, citing national security concerns, was arbitrary and unwarranted.

The Democrat said Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind projects had already cleared more than a decade of security and safety reviews by federal, state and local authorities. She said pausing them now threatens New York’s economy and energy grid, and she asked the court to intervene.

“New Yorkers deserve clean, reliable energy, good-paying jobs, and a government that follows the law,” James said in a statement. “This reckless decision puts workers, families, and our climate goals at risk.”

Spokespersons for the Interior Department and its Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which are both named in the litigation, declined to comment Friday, citing the pending litigation.

The Interior Department’s order last month suspended Sunrise Wind, Empire Wind and three other offshore wind projects under construction along the East Coast. The department maintains that the movement of massive turbine blades can cause radar interference called “clutter” that can obscure legitimate moving targets and generate false ones.

Trump has also dismissed offshore wind developments as ugly, expensive and a threat to wildlife as he pushes fossil fuels over renewable energy for electricity production.

Empire Wind is located about 14 miles (22.5 kilometers) southeast of Long Island and is projected to power more than 500,000 homes. Equinor, the Norwegian company developing the project, has said it’s about 60% complete.

Sunrise Wind is located about 30 miles (48 kilometers) east of Montauk and is expected to power about 600,000 homes. Orsted, the Danish energy company developing the project, has said it’s roughly 45% complete.

Both developers have also filed their own legal challenges, as have the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island.

James previously led a coalition of attorneys general from 17 states and Washington, D.C., in challenging Trump’s executive order pausing approvals, permits and loans for all wind energy projects, both onshore and offshore.

Last month, a federal judge in Massachusetts sided with the attorneys general and vacated the Jan. 20, 2025, order. Days later, the Trump administration issued the stop-work order on the East Coast projects.