EnviroPolitics Blog

States press battle to revive Trump-halted offshore wind project

Wind turbines off of Block Island — *Wind turbines at Orsted’s Block Island wind farm off Rhode Island, one of two commercial offshore wind farms in the United States. Credit: PennyJack Creative/Shutterstock*

Connecticut and Rhode Island attorneys general have escalated their legal fight against the Trump administration’s abrupt halt to the Revolution Wind offshore energy project, filing for a preliminary injunction to immediately block what they describe as a “baseless stop work order” issued last month.

Attorney General William Tong of Connecticut and Attorney General Peter Neronha of Rhode Island initially sued on September 4 in U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, seeking to overturn the administration’s directive. Their recent filing outlines what they characterize as “immediate and irreparable harm” to Connecticut and requests judicial intervention to allow construction to resume while the case proceeds.

Located fifteen nautical miles off Rhode Island’s coast, Revolution Wind had reached approximately 80% completion with all foundations installed and 45 of 65 planned wind turbines already in place. The project is expected to deliver enough electricity to power 350,000 homes, representing 2.5 percent of New England’s electricity supply beginning in 2026.

Revolution Wind, a 50/50 joint venture between Ørsted and Global Infrastructure Partner’s Skyborn Renewables, had received full regulatory approvals following a nine-year review process, including its Construction and Operations Plan approval in November 2023. The project secured 20-year power purchase agreements to deliver 400 MW to Rhode Island and 304 MW to Connecticut.

This week, the administration asked a judge to deny Revolution Wind’s request for a preliminary injunction, arguing the company “didn’t include enough detail about the expected breakaway costs or other construction deadlines to justify an ‘extraordinary’ injunction.” The government further stated, “With respect to the $5 billion figure, Revolution Wind has not explained how lack of money already spent would threaten the future viability of its business.”

Ørsted CFO Trond Westlie maintained that restarting the project remains a priority: “Our goal is to get back to work on Revolution Wind as soon as possible. And we work in multiple tracks to make that happen.”

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NJ Congressman Jeff Van Drew makes case for Trump’s war on wind

Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) speaks during the second day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 16, 2024. | Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images

By BENJAMIN STORROW, Politico

Offshore wind supporters are crying foul as President Donald Trump revokes permits, rolls back federal incentives and halts projects under construction along the East Coast.

But one New Jersey Republican would like Power Switch readers to know that the president has gotten it right.

In an interview, Rep. Jeff Van Drew echoed Trump’s arguments that offshore wind farms cost consumers money and threaten the environment (two contentions that wind supporters very much dispute). He said he’s pleased with the Interior Department’s recent actions, which have included stopping work on the nearly completed Revolution Wind project south of New England and proposing to rescind permits for three others.

Van Drew said he couldn’t answer the biggest question on the minds of offshore wind supporters and critics alike: whether Interior will issue more stop-work orders.

But he added, “My hope and my belief would be that they would find out what I believe to be true, that these projects are very, very problematic.”

‘The president was very clear’

Van Drew, a former Democrat who switched parties during Trump’s first term, rose to prominence as a wind critic while fighting Atlantic Shores, a massive project proposed almost 9 miles off the coast of Atlantic City. He argued the project would increase power prices, drive tourists from the Jersey Shore, and harm marine wildlife.

His view offers a stark contrast to Democratic Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, who told Power Switch last week that the Trump administration’s decision to stop work on Revolution Wind would lead to higher power prices, jeopardize the reliability of the electric grid and chill business investment in the U.S.

Van Drew pushed back against that idea Wednesday, calling offshore wind “very, very expensive” and arguing that developers took a calculated gamble when they chose to invest in the U.S.

“The president was very clear when campaigning that he was going to do this,” Van Drew continued. “It’s something that I asked for, and I believe in. In fact, we were a part of the process and worked with Interior on this. And I think the beaches and the oceans and the seafloor will be the better for it, and so will the country.”

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Fossil fuel industry withstands another climate-change lawsuit

SC Court blocks city’s climate suit against energy firms

By J. Michael Showalter of ArentFox Schiff LLP

A South Carolina state trial court recently dismissed a climate tort case filed by the City of Charleston seeking to hold major energy companies liable for harms allegedly caused by climate change. This ended a case that had bounced between state and federal courts for much of the last decade.

The decision, which we break down in detail below, is the latest in a series of state and federal decisions that have rejected attempts by municipalities to use state law as a vehicle to address climate change.

The decision is notable for a few reasons. First, it explicitly rejects the use of state law as a tool to address global climate harms, diverging from recent international trends, including the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) advisory opinion on state responsibility for climate change. (For more, see here.)

Second, the decision marks a development in the ongoing debate over the proper forum and legal theory for addressing climate change harms. In this court’s view, state law claims seeking to redress global climate change are preempted and precluded by the federal constitutional structure and the Clean Air Act (CAA).

The court’s rationale stands in sharp contrast to the ICJ’s recent advisory opinion, which suggested that states have affirmative obligations under international law to address climate change and may be held accountable for transboundary harms. While the ICJ’s opinion may reflect a growing international consensus on the need for robust climate action, the South Carolina decision highlights the hesitancy of certain domestic courts to adjudicate claims that implicate global emissions.

Read the complete advisory here

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NJ Transit purchases 200 additional multilevel rail cars from Alstom

*MultiLevel III for New Jersey Transit.*

By Brandon Lewis, Mass Transit

New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) has exercised a contract option with Alstom for the purchase of 200 additional multilevel rail cars to replace aging Comet II, IV, and V single-level cars, standardize the fleet, increase seating capacity by 12% and enhance safety. The new railcars will feature additional seating capacity and accessibility, a higher top speed of up to 110 mph, safety, and enhanced onboard amenities for customers, including USB charging ports.

“This investment reflects our unwavering commitment to providing New Jerseyans with safe, reliable, and modern public transportation,” said New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. “By replacing outdated rail cars with state-of-the-art equipment, we’re not only improving the commuting experience for millions of riders, but also strengthening our economy, reducing emissions, and moving toward a more sustainable future.”

The 200 new multilevel rail cars are in addition to the agency’s previous orders for 174 cars, bringing the total purchase order to 374 cars. The contract between NJ Transit and Alstom has a remaining option for 50 more cars, which may be purchased at a later date for a total of 424 cars in NJ Transit’s fleet. NJ Transit plans to fully modernize its rail fleet by 2031.

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How a major NY bank enabled the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein

A Times investigation found that America’s leading bank spent years supporting — and profiting from — the notorious sex offender, ignoring red flags, suspicious activity, and concerned executives.

By David Enrich, Matthew Goldstein, and Jessica Silver-Greenberg, The New York Times

The reporters, who started investigating Epstein more than six years ago, reviewed more than 13,000 pages of legal and financial records for this article.

One day in October 2011, Jeffrey Epstein walked into the cavernous lobby of 270 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. The skyscraper was home to JPMorgan Chase, arguably the world’s most prestigious bank. The sex offender — who barely a year earlier was under house arrest after serving 13 months in a Florida jail — was ushered onto an elevator and whisked to a top floor where Jamie Dimon, the bank’s chief executive, and the rest of the senior leadership had their offices.

Epstein had long been a treasured customer at JPMorgan. His accounts were brimming with more than $200 million. He generated millions of dollars in revenue for the bank, landing him atop an internal list of major money makers. He helped JPMorgan orchestrate an important acquisition. He introduced executives to men who would become lucrative clients, such as Google co-founder Sergey Brin, and to global leaders, like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. He helped executives troubleshoot crises and strategize about global opportunities.

But a growing group of employees worried that JPMorgan’s association with a man who had pleaded guilty to a sex crime — and was under federal investigation for human trafficking — could harm the bank’s reputation. Just as troubling, anti-money-laundering specialists within the bank noticed Epstein’s pattern of withdrawing tens of thousands of dollars in cash virtually every month. These were red flags for illicit activity.

That was why Epstein was at the bank’s headquarters. JPMorgan’s top executive in charge of ensuring compliance with laws and regulations had already pushed to fire him as a client. Now Stephen Cutler, a former federal securities regulator and the bank’s general counsel, had added his voice to the chorus.

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EPA to drop requirement that industry report its air emissions

The data, from thousands of coal-burning power plants, oil refineries, steel mills, and other industrial facilities, is the country’s most comprehensive way to track greenhouse gases.

By Maxine Joselow, New York Times, Sept. 12, 2025, 4:02 p.m. ET

The Environmental Protection Agency moved on Friday to stop requiring thousands of polluting facilities to report the amount of heat-trapping greenhouse gases that they release into the air.

The E.P.A. proposal would end requirements for thousands of coal-burning power plants, oil refineries, steel mills and other industrial facilities across the country. The government has been collecting this data since 2010 and it is a key tool to track carbon dioxide, methane and other gases that are driving climate change.

The Friday announcement comes as the Trump administration has systematically erased mentions of climate change from government websites while slashing federal funding for research on global warming.

“Alongside President Trump, E.P.A. continues to live up to the promise of unleashing energy dominance that powers the American dream,” Lee Zeldin, the E.P.A. administrator, said in a statement. “The Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program is nothing more than bureaucratic red tape.”

Zeldin said that ending the program would save American businesses up to $2.4 billion in compliance costs. The New York Times could not independently verify that claim; representatives for E.P.A. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

US EPA proposes end to mandatory greenhouse gas reporting (Reuters)

Critics said the proposal could hobble federal efforts to fight climate change, since the government cannot reduce emissions if it cannot measure how much is generated and where it is produced.

“With this move, they’re taking away the practical and material capacity of the federal government to do the basic elements of climate policymaking,” said Joseph Goffman, who led the E.P.A.’s air office during the Biden administration

For the past 15 years, the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program has collected data from about 8,000 of the country’s largest industrial facilities. That data has helped guide numerous decisions on federal policy and has been shared with the United Nations, which has required developed countries to submit tallies of their emissions.

In addition, private companies often rely on the program’s data to demonstrate to investors that their efforts to cut emissions are working. And communities often use it to determine whether local facilities are releasing air pollution that threatens public health.

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EPA to drop requirement that industry report its air emissions Read More »

States press battle to revive Trump-halted offshore wind project

NJ Congressman Jeff Van Drew makes case for Trump’s war on wind

Fossil fuel industry withstands another climate-change lawsuit

NJ Transit purchases 200 additional multilevel rail cars from Alstom

How a major NY bank enabled the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein

A Times investigation found that America’s leading bank spent years supporting — and profiting from — the notorious sex offender, ignoring red flags, suspicious activity, and concerned executives.

EPA to drop requirement that industry report its air emissions

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