The US District Court for the District of Columbia has granted Empire Offshore Wind a preliminary injunction that allows construction activities for the 2GW Empire Wind project to resume on the US Outer Continental Shelf, 15–30 miles south-east of Long Island, New York.
This does not affect the underlying lawsuit challenging the US Department of the Interior’s suspension order of 22 December 2025, which will proceed.
Empire Wind commented that it will now focus on safely restarting construction activities that were halted during the suspension period. In addition, the project will continue to engage with the US Government to ensure the safe, secure and responsible execution of its operations.
Empire Wind is being developed under contract with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to deliver a new, near-term source of electricity for New York, regarded as critical for the state’s power supply and intended to bolster grid reliability at a time of rapidly growing demand.
Once completed, the project will be rated at 810–816MW from 54 Vestas V236 15MW turbines, with expected commercial operation in 2027, increasing to a possible 2GW if the second phase of the project as originally envisaged, Empire Wind 2, is realised. The aim now is to reset and rebid the project as a stronger offering in future New York solicitations.
Empire Wind 2 was originally planned at more than 1.2GW, but its development faced significant challenges, resulting in termination in early 2025 owing to rising costs and supply chain issues.
