Trump Administration Targets Another Offshore Wind Farm Project
Using a now familiar technique, the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday, December 2, made a filing in U.S. District Court targeting yet another offshore wind farm project. Speaking on behalf of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Department of Justice confirmed that the Bureau is reviewing the approval for the New England Wind project, which is to be developed by Iberdrola’s subsidiary Avangrid.
The filing asks the court for a voluntary remand of a case filed by a local environmental group, saying it is warranted to “promote judicial economy.” The Department of Commerce and Avangrid were sued in May 2025 by a group calling itself Ack For Whales, which is challenging the July 2024 approval of the wind farm by the federal government. The plaintiffs argue that the approval by BOEM failed to adequately ensure there would be less interference with other users, such as commercial fishing, sportfishing, recreation activities, boating/shipping, etc. The courts in the past have viewed these as nuisance suits and dismissed them on the grounds that the groups have time to make their cases during the permit approval process.
The original lease was awarded in April 2015 to a project then known as Park City Wind. It was amended on several occasions, splitting the project into two phases and renaming it New England Wind. It would be located southwest of Vineyard Wind, which is nearing construction completion in an area selected for a series of wind farms south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, Massachusetts. Phase 1 would be for between 41 and 62 wind turbines with a projected total generation capacity of 804 MW. The second phase, which has also been called Commonwealth Wind, would consist of up to 88 wind turbines and a total generation capacity of 1,232 MW.
The project gained its federal approval with the Record of Decision from the Department of the Interior in April 2024. BOEM approved the Construction and Operation Plan in July 2024. Since then, the developer has been seeking to complete its power agreements with the state’s power authority.
DOJ asks the court to stay the litigation by Ack, saying BOEM is “likely to make a new agency action, and that action may affect – or potentially moot” the claims. The Bureau is reviewing the construction plan, saying it believes the COP “understated impacts that were improperly weighed in reaching the determinations.” It points to Donald Trump’s executive order on the first day in office in January, calling for a review of the leases and leasing process. A group of states filed a separate case earlier this year challenging the open-ended review process.
It is a similar tactic that was also used with a suit by Nantucket against SouthCoast Wind, also in Massachusetts, and by activists against U.S. Wind in Maryland. The court sided with BOEM and DOJ, permitting the review for SouthCoast Wind to proceed while also saying timelines must be established as the reviews cannot drag on indefinitely. The court hearing the Massachusetts case ordered regular reviews and updates and set deadlines.
In the new filing, DOJ argues New England Wind is not under construction, and it is not imminent, and as such, the review does not cause harm. It neglects that the review sidelined negotiations for the power purchase agreements, which were placed in jeopardy.
The New Bedford Light newspaper, reporting on the filing, also highlights that it jeopardizes planned large investments in the local community. New England Wind and SouthCoast Wind were to base operations at the New Bedford Foss Marine Terminal, where they plan to locate their operations and maintenance facilities. New England Wind was also participating in the planned redevelopment in Salem for a terminal that would be the staging for the construction of the project.
DOJ, in its filing, asks for an indefinite stay of the environmentalists' case. It does not propose a timeline for completing the review.