The developers of the Revolution Wind wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island and Empire Wind off the coast of Long Beach, Long Island, have filed complaints challenging the federal government’s Dec. 22 order suspending leases for wind farms in federal waters of the East Coast.
Pictured Above: Wind turbine parts in New London, Conn. awaiting delivery to Ørsted‘s South Fork Wind, which has been providing power to the East End since January of 2024, and is unaffected by the order.
The Danish wind farm company Ørsted is a developer of both Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind, under construction off the coast of Montauk, which is also one of the wind farms affected by the lease suspensions.
In a press release announcing the Revolution Wind court filing, Ørsted said that, with regard to Sunrise Wind, the company “continues to evaluate all options to resolve the matter, including engagement with relevant agencies and stakeholders and considering legal proceedings.”
The U.S. Department of the Interior said on Dec. 22 it was “pausing” the leases for 90 days due to what it described as “national security risks identified by the Department of War in recently completed classified reports.”
According to a Dec. 22, 2025 statement from Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, “unclassified reports from the U.S. Government have long found that the movement of massive turbine blades and the highly reflective towers create radar interference called “clutter.” The clutter caused by offshore wind projects obscures legitimate moving targets and generates false targets in the vicinity of the wind projects.”
Both Revolution Wind LLC and Empire Offshore Wind LLC are seeking preliminary injunctions preventing the federal government from implementing its orders.
“Revolution Wind secured all required federal and state permits in 2023, following extensive reviews that began more than nine years ago,” said Ørsted in a statement on Jan. 1, 2026. “As a requirement of the permitting process, the project engaged in years-long consultation with the U.S Department of Defense [War] Military Aviation and Installation Assurance Siting Clearinghouse to address potential impacts to national security and defense capabilities from construction through to operation of the Project. Those consultations resulted in a fully executed formal agreement between the Department of War, the Department of the Air Force, and Revolution Wind outlining mitigation measures by the project. Revolution Wind has spent and committed billions of dollars in reliance upon, and has met the requests of, a thorough review process.”
“Revolution Wind is in advanced stages of construction and is expected to be ready to deliver reliable, affordable power to American homes in 2026,” the company added. “The project, now approximately 87 percent complete, has already installed all offshore foundations and 58 of 65 wind turbines. Export cable installation is complete, and both offshore substations have been installed. At the time of the lease suspension order, the project was expected to begin generating power as soon as January 2026.”
Empire Wind echoed Revolution Wind’s account of its coordination with the military and national security officials, since it executed its lease with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in 2017, in a Jan. 2 statement after its court filing seeking an injunction that day.
“In addition, Empire meets regularly with officials charged with oversight of security issues for the project, including weekly meetings with the U.S. Coast Guard and other marine first responders, said the company in the statement.
“Empire Wind is more than 60 percent complete and represents a significant investment in U.S. energy infrastructure, jobs, and supply chains,” the company added. “Empire Wind is being developed under contract with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to deliver a critical new, near-term source of electricity for New York, bolstering grid reliability at a time of rapidly growing demand. Once completed, the project is expected to provide enough power to electrify approximately 500,000 homes in New York,” the
“Empire and its contractors are complying with the order, while continuing activities required in order to prevent impacts to health, safety and the environment,” the company added.
In its weekly progress update on Sunrise Wind’s onshore work, which includes installing a cable from Smith Point County Park, up William Floyd Parkway to a substation in Holbrook, Ørsted said it is “complying with the terms of the order from BOEM directing a halt of offshore activities. The order only states that it applies to “activities related to the [project] on the Outer Continental Shelf,” and states that it does not apply to “activities that are necessary to respond to emergency situations and/or to prevent impacts to health, safety and the environment.”
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