The Trump administration has formally asked a federal judge to let it reconsider the construction permit for US Wind's offshore project planned off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland, escalating a legal fight that has dragged on for nearly two years. The request, filed with the court this week, marks the administration's most concrete move yet to unwind federal approvals for one of the region's largest proposed energy developments.
The filing lands in the courtroom of Baltimore U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher, who is overseeing the underlying lawsuit that the Town of Ocean City brought against the project's construction permit nearly two years ago, according to the Baltimore Sun. That permit was originally issued by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, a subagency of the Department of the Interior, which for a time defended it even as federal officials signaled back in August that they planned to seek permission to reconsider the approval. The administration is now asking Judge Gallagher to remand the permit without vacatur, meaning it would stay in place while the Interior Department takes another look.
Department of Justice officials cited possible adverse impacts on the North Atlantic right whale, as well as concerns over scenic and visual resources, commercial fisheries and scientific research, according to the same Baltimore Sun report. The government argued the project did not receive adequate consideration under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, and said the permit should be remanded on those grounds while contending that some of Ocean City's other objections are moot.
A Legal Battle With a Long Runway
This latest filing follows a string of federal actions that have already reshaped the project's prospects. US Wind had previously asked Judge Gallagher to block the federal government from revoking its permit altogether, but the judge declined that request in December, ruling the developer could only challenge federal action after the Interior Department reached a decision carrying actual legal consequences, as detailed by Maryland Matters.
The underlying case traces back to October 2024, when Ocean City and a coalition of co-plaintiffs — including the Worcester County Commissioners, Fenwick Island, Delaware, and local hospitality groups — sued the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and other federal agencies over the project's environmental and economic approvals, according to WBOC. That bureau had issued its formal Record of Decision approving the project in September 2024 and granted final approval of its Construction and Operations Plan that December, under the Biden administration, per the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's Tethys database.
What's Actually Being Built Offshore
US Wind's proposal covers roughly 80,000 acres in federal waters about 10.1 nautical miles off Ocean City, with plans for up to 114 turbines capable of generating up to 2.2 gigawatts of electricity — enough to power more than 700,000 homes, per Wikipedia's entry on the project. It is, by most measures, one of the region's largest new energy projects in the pipeline.
Ocean City has welcomed the administration's move. The town said prior federal review and approval failed to adequately address the project's significant impacts on ocean views, fisheries, marine life and other ocean uses, and that it had raised those concerns from the start — adding that it welcomed the government's acknowledgment of them, per the Baltimore Sun. US Wind, for its part, said it remains confident a court will uphold its permits and prevent adverse action against the project. Nancy Sopko, the company's vice president of external affairs, said federal agencies properly issued final permits after more than a decade of analysis.
The Whale Question at the Center of the Dispute
Much of the legal fight centers on the North Atlantic right whale. Ocean City has argued that federal regulators inadequately considered possible construction harm to the species, but the federal government countered that it had considered possible marine mammal impacts and determined they would be minimal, the Sun reported. NOAA Fisheries experts acknowledged that whales could experience temporary behavioral disturbance and physiological stress from construction noise, but agency documentation stated that effects were expected to be temporary, with normal behavior resuming quickly once the noise ended, and were not expected to affect whales' long-term health or their ability to migrate, forage, breed or calve.
To limit disturbance, NOAA Fisheries has required construction crews to observe seasonal restrictions on pile driving and use noise attenuation devices during construction. A federal filing concluded the agency sufficiently analyzed potential impacts to whales protected under the Endangered Species Act and reasonably found the project unlikely to jeopardize their continued existence. The government also challenged some of Ocean City's claims against the National Marine Fisheries Service, commonly known as NOAA Fisheries, calling certain allegations blatantly inaccurate.
Real-World Fallout Already Underway
While the legal fight plays out, the regulatory uncertainty has already taken a toll on US Wind's onshore plans. The company relinquished its lease at Tradepoint Atlantic in Baltimore County to shipbuilding firm Anduril Industries this month, abandoning plans to build its Sparrows Point steel monopile fabrication facility, according to Baird Maritime. That retreat came after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy terminated a $47.3 million federal Port Infrastructure Development Program grant for the Sparrows Point staging and steel manufacturing site in August 2025, as reported by WBAL Baltimore.
The stakes extend beyond one company's supply chain. Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed the Promoting Offshore Wind Energy Resources Act into law in April 2023, quadrupling the state's offshore wind target from 2 gigawatts to 8.5 gigawatts by 2031, according to WorkBoat — a goal that continued permit delays put increasingly at risk. Across the state line, US Wind's plans to bury high-voltage power cables under 3Rs Beach in Delaware Seashore State Park to connect to a planned substation near the Indian River Power Plant have also triggered zoning and regulatory disputes, WHYY has reported.
US Wind has tried to soften local opposition with direct financial commitments. In May 2025, the company signed memoranda of understanding with state natural resource agencies in Maryland and Delaware proposing $20 million in support for commercial and charter fishing industries, including $13.5 million earmarked for West Ocean City Harbor maintenance and business grants, according to WBOC. Meanwhile, regional grid operator PJM Interconnection has reported that wholesale electricity capacity auction prices hit a record $329 per megawatt-day in the 2024/2025 auction, reflecting growing demand and reliability concerns across the Delmarva region, Forbes has noted — a backdrop that underscores what's at stake as the legal fight over Ocean City's offshore future continues before Judge Gallagher.
