Offshore Wind Energy 
December 2025
As 2025 comes to a close, this final edition of the Seabreeze brings you a combined look at the developments in offshore wind from November and December. While the sector continues to navigate unprecedented challenges, there have been notable wins that offer momentum heading into 2026.
Thank you for staying engaged with the evolving world of offshore wind—and if you know others who might enjoy staying informed, invite them to sign up here!
Happy Holidays—we look forward to sharing more in the new year!
SPOTLIGHT: Ruling in NY et. al. v. Trump vacates the Trump Administration’s Wind Order suspending offshore wind leasing and permitting.
As we prepared to end the year in search of silver linings, Judge Patti B. Saris of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts delivered a resounding victory for offshore wind energy advocates. On December 8, Judge Saris issued a ruling in NY et. al. v. Trump, striking down the Trump Administration’s January government-wide suspension of offshore wind leasing and permitting (Wind Order). Judge Saris vacated the Wind Order in its entirety.
NWF, along with 9 other NGOs, submitted a joint amicus brief in support of overturning the unlawful suspension of offshore wind leasing and permitting. Judge Saris cited and thanked the amici for providing additional information to the Court.
FEDERAL UPDATES:
At the end of October, the Interior Department terminated research funding, effective immediately, for the New England Aquarium and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center to help protect whale populations. This ended a 14-year whale survey program occurring in the ocean site where three wind farms are under construction (Vineyard Wind 1, Sunrise Wind, and Revolution Wind).
On December 12, NWF submitted comments in response to the Special Initiative on Offshore Wind Procurement Reform Request for Information emphasizing that offshore wind procurement is a critical opportunity to embed environmental stewardship, community benefits, and long-term resilience directly into state contracting frameworks. While current procurement approaches have advanced environmental protections, we underscored that environmental benefit commitments too often remain secondary to price, creating hidden long-term costs for wildlife, ecosystems, and communities.
Additionally, NWF comments recommended reforms to improve project durability and market stability, coordinated interregional planning that engages indigenous communities and other interested parties on transmission, and for states to strengthen procurement scoring to reward best environmental value – not just the lowest cost. NWF’s comments can be found here.
On November 19, the US Fish & Wildlife Service proposed four new rules to modify Endangered Species Act regulations, announcing four separate dockets for public comment. Proposals included eliminating the rule that protecting Threatened species under a precautionary approach, allowing economic costs to be considered when deciding whether to list a species, reducing the amount of protected critical habitat, and removing offset provisions, meaning agencies cannot rely on mitigation “trade-offs” to conclude that a project avoids jeopardy. NWF will submit comments on December 22, strongly opposing each of the four proposed revisions.
STATE AND REGIONAL UPDATES:
NORTHEAST (CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, RI)
Beyond Judge Patti B. Saris’ ruling in NY et. al. v. Trump which will leave the door open to future leasing and permitting opportunities in the Northeast, most of the region’s projects saw legal and procedural updates.
On December 12, New England Wind 1 and 2 were stalled by a motion filed by BOEM in the Ack for Whales Inc., et. al. v. US Department of Commerce, et. al., and Avangrid Power, LLC., et. al. case to voluntarily remand and stay the litigation pending its reconsideration of the approved Construction and Operations Plan. The federal government’s motion emphasizes that its prior approval “may have” failed to account for all project impacts. Read more here.
Orsted’s Revolution Wind received positive news when the federal administration missed the November 21 deadline to submit a response to the plaintiffs’ preliminary injunction granted by Judge Royce Lamberth in September. This preliminary injunction for Orsted reversed the federal government’s Stop Work Order for Revolution Wind, and permitted the project to restart.
On November 4, Judge Tanya S. Chutkan granted the Agency Defendants’ Motion for Voluntary Remand and Stay Proceedings, and noted that she was “not convinced” that the SouthCoast Wind project was “likely to suffer immediate and significant hardship.” With this decision, the federal administration can now reevaluate the approved Construction and Operations Plan for SouthCoast Wind’s 2.4 GW, 141 turbine project off the coast of Massachusetts. Both parties must file a joint status report indicating the status of BOEM’s remand proceedings starting on or before January 3, 2026, and every 60 days thereafter.
Ocean Wind’s SouthCoast project also felt this winter’s cold sting as Rhode Island cancelled their 200 MW allotment of the 1,200 MW array which was being shared with Massachusetts. Christian Roselund from Climate Action Rhode Island shared her thoughts on offshore wind in Rhode Island in this article.
One of the biggest blows to responsible offshore wind in the Northeast came with the cancellation of New Jersey’s Leading Light Wind. Invenergy, the group behind the project, determined that the obstacles created by current regulatory, planning, and supply chain concerns would make it impossible for the project to move forward.
On November 3, the public comment period for the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) Draft Regional Standards for Monitoring closed. Despite finding the draft to be overall clear and encouraging, particularly in its treatment of hydrodynamic and oceanographic impacts, NWF submitted comments outlining priorities and concerns including identifying several crucial gaps. This included the absence of the consistently mentioned forthcoming NEFSC Regional Offshore Wind Science Plan, the need for stronger and updated alignment with the RWSC Integrated Science Plan, clearer expectations around whether the standards will be mandatory or guidance, inclusion of additional impact-producing factors such as anchoring and lighting, and the need for a defined, or referred to, adaptive management framework.
Finally, check out this recent piece in the National Fisherman by Anglers for Offshore Wind Power leader, Captain Paul Eidman, about the missed opportunity to be good stewards of the planet if we pass up offshore wind.
MID-ATLANTIC (DE, MD, NC, VA)
US Wind saw a number of victories in the past month. On December 4, Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher issued a resounding decision to deny the Trump Administration’s attempt to withdraw approval of US Wind in Maryland, which had been fully approved by the Biden Administration in December of 2024. The Maryland Department of General Services also issued a new offshore wind procurement that they are legislatively bound to as a result of the POWER Act of 2023. This is the first procurement launched in the US since the start of the Trump Administration. Developers are being asked to submit bids by January 16, 2026.
In Delaware, Attorney General Kathy Jennings filed an amicus brief in support of the US Wind project in Mayor and City Council of Ocean City, Maryland, et. al. v. DOI. citing the relief this project would bring to struggling Delawareans facing the rising cost of living and increasing cost of energy.
In Virginia, Dominion Energy expects to complete onshore work to deliver the first power from the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project by the first quarter of 2026. The 176-turbine, 2,600 MW project is estimated to be approximately 66% complete, and when completed will be the largest offshore wind farm in the United States.
In North Carolina, Avangrid has petitioned the North Carolina Utilities Commission to overturn and redo Duke Energy’s offshore wind procurement process, arguing that it relied on a fundamentally flawed cost benchmark. Duke Energy and the public staff set an offshore wind price ceiling using a proxy that assumed more than 7,000 MW of new solar and battery storage could replace 2,400 MW of offshore wind, an assumption Avangrid says is impossible given Duke’s own interconnection limits, execution challenges, and recent reductions in planned solar buildouts.
GULF OF MEXICO (LA, TX)
On November 20, in support of a national Yes to Wind Week of Action, the National Wildlife Federation and the Southeastern Wind Coalition hosted a film viewing of NWF’s new short film, Coast to Coast, followed by a conversation at Louisiana State University. NWF’s Stacy Ortego had a fireside chat with one of the film’s featured experts, Dr. Erik Johnson, former Audubon Delta scientist and now professor at LSU’s School of Renewable Natural Resources. Dr. Johnson explained more about his research to understand the flight elevations of landbirds as they cross the Gulf during migration. If you haven’t seen the film yet, check it out on our website!
Anti-wind rhetoric from the Trump Administration has stifled supply chain investments and threatened jobs in the Gulf, leaving businesses waiting to unleash their full labor and economic potential. While the Gulf has no offshore wind projects, Louisiana has already benefitted from the industry with over $500 million in supply chain investments in support of projects along the East Coast. Many of those businesses stem from the oil and gas sector – which can use the work after a steady slowdown in business over the last decade.
A new study by University of Miami researchers found that shrimping ground would not be impacted by proposed offshore wind energy areas. Scientists looked at data from shrimping vessels to determine how they interacted with oil rigs. The areas proposed for future wind energy development are not heavily used by shrimpers.
PACIFIC (CA, HI, OR, WA)
Starting in Oregon, the Offshore Wind Roadmap’s official public comment period is expected to start in February 2026 and continue into March. An up-to-date draft of the Roadmap, meeting recordings, and agendas can be found on the Oregon Offshore Wind Energy Roadmap website with the next Roadmap Roundtable meeting occurring in April 2026.
On November 19, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek released Executive Order 25-29 which will increase Oregon’s actions to reduce carbon emissions, address energy affordability, and strengthen the state’s power grid. This followed the signing of Executive Order 25-25 which would accelerate the pace of renewable wind and solar projects in the state prior to the expiration of federal clean energy tax credits.
Moving to California, NWF submitted written testimony for the California Ocean Protection Council’s December 8 meeting expressing strong support for California’s leadership in advancing the West Coast Science Collaborative for Offshore Wind Energy and for directing funding to California Sea Grant to address key science gaps. At the December meeting, the Council announced a 90-day official public comment period will be held early next year on the Draft Blueprint for Building a West Coast Science Collaborative for offshore wind energy.
In coordination with our partners in California and Humboldt County, NWF helped host a successful tour for members of the press and elected officials to learn more about responsible offshore wind in California.
At a recent Port San Luis Harbor District Commission meeting, despite supporters of responsible offshore wind energy outnumbering opponents, the commission ultimately decided to delay approval to seek port funding for offshore wind development. Read more about the commission meeting here.
Recent
Lessons from the UK: Accelerating Offshore Wind and Natural Protection
November 12 | Webinar
In this webinar, Renewables Grid Initiative outlined the special role played by the Crown Estate in offshore wind development, along with their intertwined work with RenewableUK and RSPB to ensure nature is at the focus of this infrastructure. British experts outlined the key policy frameworks, planning strategies and consenting approaches that enable the protection of marine ecosystems. Learn more about the presentation here.
Lunch and Learn: Success of South Fork Wind
November 20 | Webinar
Citizens Campaign for the Environment, NY League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, New York Offshore Wind Alliance, LI Federation of Labor, Students for Climate Action, Sierra Club, Renewable Energy Long Island, Win with Wind, All our Energy and other Wind Works NY partners held free informational Lunch and Learn presentation with Orsted. The South Fork Wind project, America’s first commercial offshore wind farm, has now been operational for one year. Here is the update on one year of progress and learn the benefits of powering 70,000 south fork homes with renewable energy. Check out this presentation about South Fork Wind followed by a Q & A.
Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) Report and Webinar: “Strengthening Offshore Wind Community Engagement: Recommendations for State Agencies”
December 4 | Webinar
In this CESA webinar, CESA Project Director Sam Schacht and Equnival Partners Principal Kevin Bryan presented the report’s recommendations and discuss them alongside members of CESA’s Offshore Wind and Equity Working Group. A report authored by CESA and Equnival Partners, includes concrete steps that state agencies can take to meaningfully engage with communities as states plan for offshore wind projects. Read the report here.