US Supreme Court throws out bid to block Vineyard Wind

The US Supreme Court denied petitions by two fisheries consortiums to void federal approvals for Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners-Iberdrola-owned Vineyard Wind 1, but plaintiffs vowed to fight on under Trump's anti-wind memorandum.

The Supreme Court issued the orders, “Petition Denied” today on its website for two separate cases brought by New England-based fisheries consortiums.

Fisheries association Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (Roda), represented by Washington, DC-based Marzulla Law, and a consortium of groups headed by squid-processor Seafreeze Shoreside with representation from Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), filed suits separately in 2021 to block the project.

The suits were among four filed against the project, all of which were dismissed in both federal district and appellate levels.

President Donald Trump’s anti-wind memorandum may provide ammunition for the plaintiffs, however.

“We will continue to pursue our goal of shutting down the Vineyard Wind project by filing an administrative petition with the Secretary of the Interior,” TPPF senior attorney Ted Hadzi-Antich.

Plaintiffs will seek “reevaluation of the legal and factual missteps of the Biden Administration in approving a project that is so harmful to safety, the environment, and national defense.”

Vineyard Wind is the first commercial-scale offshore wind project to receive all its federal approvals from the previous administration of Joe Biden, reach financial close, and begin construction in 2021.

Located only 15 miles (24 km) off Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, it has faced fierce opposition from mostly fisheries concerned over its long term and cumulative impacts, as well as environmentalists who see it risking vulnerable whale species, and even other renewables developers.

While it has survived all legal challenges so far, Trump’s memorandum freezing offshore wind leasing and permitting and putting existing projects under review could put a stop to it anyway.

Trump’s order for reviews of existing projects is open-ended and is aimed at “terminating or amending” them, with huge implications for the sector.

Already, Equinor’s $7bn Empire Wind 1 including major upgrades to the South Brooklyn Marine terminal has been hit with a stop-work order under the authority of the Trump memo.

The Presidential memorandum also allows the Justice Department to side with plaintiffs or otherwise stay project litigation, raising risks for the six projects facing suits.

EDF’s 1.5GW Atlantic Shores array to New Jersey had its Clean Air permit yanked after a lawsuit was filed.

Vineyard is much further along in construction, however, and so far the Trump administration has not stopped any project already in offshore installation.

The project had made significant progress installing at least ten GE Vernova 13MW Haliade-X turbines before a blade collapsed stopped all activities last July.

Following an investigation that implicated GE’s Canadian manufacturing plant, construction was resumed with new blades being installed.

So far, project data confirms 23 of the total 64 turbines have been completed, and GE now expects to complete installation by the end of this year.