By Clara Hudson
New York Attorney General Letitia James on Friday filed two lawsuits against the Trump administration over its halt of the Empire Wind and Sunrise Wind projects.
The Trump administration in December paused the federal leases for five East Coast wind projects, citing national security concerns. The state attorney general's lawsuit, filed in the District of Columbia federal court, said the pause on the projects is "arbitrary and unwarranted" because both went through years of national security and safety reviews.
James, who asked the court to block the administration's stop-work orders, also said that pausing the projects could threaten New York's economy and energy. The two projects off the coast of Long Island are expected to power more than one million homes in New York, she said.
"These projects were carefully reviewed and already under construction when the federal government pulled the plug without explanation," said James. "This reckless decision puts workers, families and our climate goals at risk."
The Interior Department, which oversees offshore wind development, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
James said the stop-work orders don't explain the government's change in position and don't provide "a genuine justification for the suspension," which she says violates the Administrative Procedure Act.
She also said delays on the wind projects threaten the state's ability to meet its clean-energy targets, including achieving 70% renewable electricity by 2030 and a zero-emissions electric grid by 2040.
The Empire Wind project is run by Norwegian energy company Equinor, which last week filed an injunction request for the Trump administration's order.
Equinor has said that it "coordinated closely with numerous federal officials on national security reviews since it executed its lease for the project in 2017, including with the Department of War, and has complied with relevant national security related requirements."
"Right now the project is in a critical situation, construction must resume by mid-January to avoid cascading delays that could ultimately lead to a cancellation of the project," said Molly Morris, a senior vice president at Equinor overseeing Empire Wind.
Danish renewable business Orsted is developing Sunrise Wind, and it recently made legal bids to restart that project as well as its Revolution Wind project off the coast of Rhode Island and Connecticut.
The wind standstill was the latest in a series of moves the Trump administration has taken that have shaken the renewable-energy industry.
Write to Clara Hudson at clara.hudson@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 09, 2026 18:40 ET (23:40 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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