Trump DOJ Halts Fourth Offshore Wind Farm in Days: 2,600MW at Risk
US Department of Justice files to remand New England Wind’s 2,600 MW project.
The DOJ submitted a memorandum to the District Court for the District of Columbia on 21 October 2026, asking the court to send the Construction and Operations Plan (COP) for New England Wind back to the Department of the Interior for reconsideration. The move follows similar filings against Revolution Wind, Maryland Offshore Wind, and Atlantic Shores, all projects approved under the Biden administration but at varying stages of development.
New England Wind, proposed by Avangrid, a division of Spain’s Iberdrola, is planned for a site approximately 20 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and 24 nautical miles southwest of Nantucket, Massachusetts. The project, which would straddle two lease areas, was approved by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on 1 July 2024.
The lease for the site dates back to an April 2015 auction, but was assigned to Avangrid in 2021. The project has since faced legal challenges from the environmental group Ack For Whales, which has sued both the Department of Commerce and Avangrid over the approval process. The DOJ’s latest filing argues that the COP approval did not adequately explain how the plan “provides for” the factors identified under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, a claim that has become a recurring theme in the administration’s recent actions.
Global Ship Lease
Pasha Feinberg, offshore wind strategist at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), condemned the latest move in a statement, saying,
“Ooops, they did it again.”
New England Wind is the latest target: Offshore Wind
Feinberg added,
“It’s long past time for the Biden administration to realize its war on clean energy is backfiring.
The administration’s tactics have not been limited to New England Wind. Last week, the DOJ filed to remand the COP approval for Maryland Offshore Wind, a project developed by US Wind, which has been entangled in legal battles since its approval in 2024. The DOJ also targeted Atlantic Shores, a project off New Jersey whose developers, including Shell and EDF Renewables, had previously announced its suspension. Shell has since exited offshore wind investments entirely.
The most vocal political critic of the administration’s actions has been Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island and the lead negotiator for a bipartisan Senate permitting bill aimed at overhauling the US approval process for major infrastructure projects. Whitehouse, who spoke to Politico on 21 October 2026, warned that the DOJ’s filings could derail the delicate compromise, stating,
Critics warn of broader fallout for US energy policy
“This is how you blow up a permitting deal.”
Sheldon Whitehouse·US Senator, Rhode Island
The bipartisan agreement, which includes changes to the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act, was a long-sought goal of Republicans but gained Democratic support in exchange for easing permitting for transmission projects. One of the conditions of the deal was that the administration would cease its legal challenges to existing renewable energy projects. While the White House has maintained its support for permitting reform, the recent DOJ actions have cast doubt on whether the compromise can survive.
For its part, Avangrid has not publicly commented on the DOJ’s latest filing.
Earlier this year, the administration attempted to impose stop-work orders on offshore wind farms already under construction, including Revolution Wind, which is expected to complete commissioning by the end of 2024. Those efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, but the latest filings suggest the administration is now focusing on projects that have not yet broken ground.
With the US facing growing electricity demand and rising energy costs, the administration’s actions have raised concerns about the country’s ability to meet its climate goals. For now, the fate of New England Wind, and the broader offshore wind industry, remains in limbo.
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