offshore wind

Vineyard Wind, a large and nearly complete offshore wind farm near Massachusetts, says the Trump administration violated the law when it ordered a construction pause in December.

The company is trying to finish installing the last of its turbines, located about 12 miles southwest of Aquinnah, in the next 41 days. After that, the installation vessel may need to leave for other work.

The judge who declared President Trump’s blocking of offshore wind unlawful will likely wait to see what the administration does before taking enforcement action, one of the plaintiffs said.

On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris said the memo was arbitrary and gave no reasoned explanation.

The Department of Energy said the $7.6 billion in canceled grants do not meet the Trump administration’s goals.

The Trump administration asked a federal judge to allow it to revoke a key permit for SouthCoast Wind, a project that could power about 1.4 million homes in the region.

Getting information about the state’s only offshore wind project under construction has been difficult in the last six months. CAI and the Martha’s Vineyard Times teamed up last week to visit Vineyard Wind by boat, to see what visual evidence we could find of the project status.

The settlement will allow the town to create a fund to compensate local businesses for their losses, officials said.

Lauren Diggin, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, said “the changing federal landscape” makes finalizing contracts difficult.