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Revolution Wind, a joint venture (JV) between Ørsted and a consortium led by Skyborn Renewables, filed a complaint in the US District Court for the District of Columbia on 4 September, challenging the stop-work order issued by the US Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). The states of Connecticut and Rhode Island also initiated legal action against the stop-work order the same day.
The developer’s complaint will be followed by a request for a preliminary injunction, according to a press release from Revolution Wind LLC, which states that “the project is facing substantial harm from the continuation of the stop-work order” and therefore litigation was “a necessary step” .
In the filing , the Ørsted-led joint venture is seeking to vacate the order and secure preliminary and permanent injunctive relief. The developer said the order immediately stopped offshore construction works that are already about 80 per cent complete.
According to the document, more than USD 5 billion (approximately EUR 4.3 billion) has already been spent or committed, with potential cancellation liabilities exceeding USD 1 billion (approx. EUR 856 million) if the project remains frozen.
Ørsted argues that the stop-work order exceeds BOEM’s authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), and says the order must be set aside under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).
As reported when the DOI announced the halt of Revolution Wind offshore construction, BOEM said the pause would allow time for the agency “to address concerns that have arisen during the review that the Department is undertaking “, and that the review was particularly focused on addressing “concerns related to the protection of national security interests “ and “ prevention of interference with reasonable uses of the exclusive economic zone, the high seas, and the territorial seas” , as described in the OCSLA.