The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) and the Texas Public Policy Foundation have both filed petitions with the country’s highest court, arguing that the Department of Interior did not follow the law when approving the project.
On Sunday, officials confirmed that the turbine at the southernmost end of the Vineyard Wind lease off Martha’s Vineyard was apparently hit by lightning late last week, damaging the already broken blade.
Just hours after his inauguration, President Donald Trump ordered the federal government to conduct a review of the “ecological, economic, and environmental necessity of terminating or amending any existing wind energy leases."
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement lifted a suspension order Friday that initially prevented the construction and operation of the more than 800-feet tall turbines. One turbine is currently sending power to the mainland.
The Biden administration approved plans to build a 141-turbine wind farm south of the Vineyard last week as another project off the Island’s coast appeared to be stalling out.
A panel of judges with the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s decision on Dec. 5, saying claims that the federal government mishandled the approval process for the wind farm were unfounded.