Connecticut and Rhode Island are seeking a preliminary injunction to resume work on Revolution Wind, an offshore wind project that was abruptly halted by the Trump administration last month.
The Wednesday filing says the stop-work order caused "irreparable harm" to the states by "undermining their sovereign interests in procuring renewable energy." It seeks to allow construction on the project to resume while the case proceeds in court.
Revolution Wind was 80% complete and set to provide enough energy to power more than 350,000 homes starting next year. Work on the project was paused in August.
The court filing says the project's construction relies on a specialized marine vessel that’s only available until Dec. 15 and that the stop-work order will cause the states "unmeasurable economic harms."
"Each day that passes, these harms become more entrenched," the court filing reads. "A preliminary injunction lifting the Stop Work Order is not only legally proper, but it is also necessary to stop the imminent and irreparable harms the States are enduring."
Katie Dykes, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, told Connecticut Public's "The Wheelhouse" that the state is open to negotiation, but has yet to hear back from the White House.
"Of course there's a desire to do that, but we're now in the fourth week of this situation and we haven't seen any movement yet, so we need to have an urgent reconsideration of this action to ensure that this project can move forward," Dykes said.
This is a developing story. Connecticut Public's Frankie Graziano contributed to this story.
