On Feb. 2, 2026, a federal district court ruled that the Sunrise Wind Project may resume construction, enjoining enforcement of a December 2025 stop-work order issued by the Trump administration. The court’s decision marks the fifth federal court ruling allowing an offshore wind project subject to the December stop-work order to proceed while litigation over the order continues.
Sunrise Wind was one of five offshore wind projects affected by the administration’s December stop-work order, along with Empire Wind, Revolution Wind, Vineyard Wind, and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind. Each of the other four projects previously obtained preliminary injunctive relief, permitting construction activities to continue pending resolution of the merits. The Feb. 2 decision makes Sunrise Wind the final project to receive such relief.
The December stop-work order was issued based on asserted national security concerns identified by the Department of Defense, principally relating to the potential for turbine blades and reflective structures to interfere with radar systems. However, each of the impacted projects had received federal approvals only after years of environmental and interagency review, including consultation with the Department of Defense and evaluation of potential national security risks.
As with the prior cases challenging the December stop-work order, the court concluded the balance of equities favored allowing construction to proceed while the government’s underlying claims are adjudicated. In granting preliminary injunctive relief, the court emphasized the risk of irreparable harm associated with project delays, including the loss of access to specialized installation vessels and the cascading scheduling and cost impacts that would result from an extended construction halt. The Sunrise Wind decision thus completes a uniform line of district court rulings holding that, at least at the preliminary injunction stage, the administration’s asserted national security concerns do not outweigh the harm caused by halting projects that have already undergone extensive interagency review and permitting.
The Sunrise Wind preliminary injunction follows another federal court ruling addressing actions taken by the Trump administration affecting offshore wind development along the North Atlantic coast. In December 2025, a federal district court separately vacated an administration-wide pause on wind energy authorizations in federal lease areas, concluding that the suspension was unlawful. Taken together, these decisions reflect both the durability of already permitted projects in the face of federal efforts to halt their progress through various executive actions and the courts’ willingness to invalidate such unlawful measures notwithstanding asserted national security concerns.
Harris Beach Murtha’s experienced Energy Industry Team successfully represented the Sunrise Wind Project in its Public Service Law Article VII application to the New York Public Service Commission concerning the project’s generation tie-in line and related facilities. Our energy attorneys regularly assist offshore wind and other energy developers with every phase of large and small-scale energy projects, including siting and permitting, regulatory compliance, environmental, land use and real estate due diligence, contract drafting, negotiation, public/community outreach, public finance and other funding, tax issues and more.
If you are a developer and need assistance with a wind or other energy-related project, please reach out to attorney John T. McManus at (518) 701-2734 and jmcmanus@harrisbeachmurtha.com or the Harris Beach Murtha attorney with whom you most frequently work.
This alert is not a substitute for advice of counsel on specific legal issues.
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