A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that construction could continue on a $4.5 billion wind farm off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., striking down the Trump administration’s decision to halt work on the nearly complete project.
Judge Brian E. Murphy of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued a preliminary injunction that would allow the developers of the wind farm, known as Vineyard Wind, to restart construction while the broader legal battle unfolds.
The ruling was the fourth legal setback that the Trump administration has suffered in its quest to throttle the country’s nascent offshore wind industry.
Other federal judges have issued preliminary injunctions that allowed three other projects — Revolution Wind off Rhode Island, Empire Wind off New York and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind off Virginia — to resume construction.
Vineyard Wind is already 95 percent complete and is sending some power to the electric grid in Massachusetts. Once fully operational, the project is expected to generate enough electricity to power more than 400,000 homes and businesses in the state.
In an abrupt announcement three days before Christmas, the Trump administration had ordered all work to halt on Vineyard Wind and four other wind farms under construction off the East Coast. To justify the sweeping decision, officials cited a classified a report by the Defense Department that found that the projects posed risks to national security.
Judge Murphy, who was nominated to the bench by President Joseph R. Biden Jr., said he was unpersuaded by the government’s claims about national security after reviewing the classified report under seal. He said the administration had failed to “ adequately explain or justify the decision to halt construction.”
Taylor Rogers, a White House spokeswoman, wrote in an email that the Trump administration had paused construction “because our number one priority is to put America First and protect the national security of the American people.” She added that “the administration looks forward to ultimate victory on the issue,” though she did not comment on whether the Justice Department would appeal the ruling.
Representatives for the developers of Vineyard Wind, Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Hillary Bright, the executive director of Turn Forward, an offshore wind advocacy group, said the project had already helped Massachusetts residents weather the severe winter storm over the weekend.
“Vineyard Wind already produces power from previously installed turbines,” Ms. Bright said in a statement. “Initial readings from New England suggest that it performed very strongly during this weekend’s storm, turning harsh winter winds into critical power supplies.”
Maxine Joselow covers climate change and the environment for The Times from Washington.
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