Seatrium’s end-customer Equinor wins ruling to resume giant wind project halted by Trump

Washington – A US judge ruled Equinor can resume building its multibillion-dollar wind project near New York, marking the second time this week a federal court has blocked the Trump administration from enforcing a halt on offshore developments.

Equinor’s Empire Wind project would likely suffer “imminent irreparable harm” from further delays while its legal fight over the government’s stop-work order plays out in court, US District Judge Carl J. Nichols said in a ruling on Jan 15. Norway-based Equinor had argued it would likely have to cancel the project, which is 60 per cent complete and intended to supply more than 500,000 New York homes by 2027. 

Singapore-listed Seatrium has been affected by US President Donald Trump’s campaign against wind farms. An earlier Trump stop-work order saw Danish shipping giant Maersk in October 2025

cancel a US$475 million (S$611.6 million) contract with Seatrium

for a ship that was custom-designed to install massive turbines at the Empire Wind project. The dispute over cancellation of the contract was finally

settled in December

with the almost-complete vessel involved set for delivery by Feb 28.

When news broke on Dec 22 that the Trump administration was freezing five major offshore wind projects, including the Empire Wind project, Seatrium

told The Straits Times there would no changes to its resolution

of the dispute with Maersk, though it was closely monitoring the situation in the United States.

Equinor on Jan 15 said it will focus on safely restarting construction on Empire Wind, while continuing to engage with the US government to ensure the project’s safe and responsible execution. 

The court ruling offers a boost to developers facing a flurry of US moves to stop offshore wind projects that Mr Trump has criticised as money-losing and harmful to the landscape as he promotes fossil fuels.

On Jan 12, a federal judge in a different case ruled that work can resume on a wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island. A hearing for Dominion Energy’s stalled offshore wind project in Virginia is scheduled for Jan 16. 

Judge Nichols, who was appointed by Mr Trump in 2019, asked both sides to propose expedited briefing schedule by Jan 20 so he can decide on the merits of the case.

In court filings, Equinor said any delay beyond Jan 16 would threaten the economic viability of Empire Wind by disrupting a tight construction schedule and increasing the risk of loan defaults. A total loss of the project could reach about US$5.3 billion, the company said.

Among the factors weighing on the schedule are contracts Equinor has with two specialised vessels it needs to install the offshore substation. Further delays would render the vessels unavailable for years because they have subsequent commitments, the company said.

A White House spokeswoman said the federal government will keep fighting offshore wind projects.

“The Trump administration has paused the construction of all large-scale offshore wind projects because our No. 1 priority is to put America First and protect the national security of the American people,” said Ms Taylor Rogers, a spokeswoman for the White House. “The administration looks forward to ultimate victory on the issue.”

All five of the offshore wind projects halted by Mr Trump were approved under former president Joe Biden, who sought to jump-start the industry and speed the transition away from fossil fuels in the fight against climate change. Developers of the five offshore wind farms already have committed about US$28 billion to the projects, according to BloombergNEF.

Based on the long-term price of electricity that a power plant needs to charge to break even, an offshore wind farm is cheaper to build than a nuclear power plant, according to BNEF data. Even with the subsidies, however, a new offshore wind facility is more expensive than a new natural gas plant in the US. BLOOMBERG

With additional information from The Straits Times