Revolution Wind is calling on a federal judge to toss out an order from the Trump administration that stopped construction on the fully permitted offshore wind energy farm off Aquinnah.

The project filed a lawsuit against the Department of Interior and several other federal agencies and officials Thursday. Revolution Wind argued that the August 22 stop work order from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management that cited national security concerns was baseless and ignored thousands of pages of data from a decade of review.

“While Revolution Wind will continue to seek to work collaboratively with the Administration and other stakeholders toward a prompt resolution, it believes that BOEM lacked legal authority for the stop-work order and that the stop-work order’s stated basis violated applicable law,” the company said in a statement after filing the complaint in the Washington, D.C. federal court.

Situated about 12 miles southwest of Aquinnah, Revolution Wind is among the closest projects to the Vineyard, though its planned 65 turbines were set to deliver power to Rhode Island and Connecticut.

It received approval for its construction plans from BOEM in 2023 and had spent about $5 billion to permit and build the project, according to the complaint. When BOEM ordered the project to stop construction, the project was about 80 per cent complete.

The stop work order did not specify the national security concerns and Revolution Wind claimed it was issued without the proper statutory authority. In particular, the company said it was in violation of BOEM regulations, as well as the Fifth Amendment.

The Trump administration has put a target on offshore wind energy and instead has placed its favor with other energy production methods. On the first day in office, President Donald Trump halted any new permitting and ordered a review of any existing wind leases.

The Department of Commerce raised the specter of security concerns earlier this year, filing a memorandum order that said it would launch an investigation to determine the effects of importing wind turbine parts on national security.

But even with the frequent threats to wind, the stop work order caught Revolution Wind by surprise. According to the complaint, wind farm officials had met with regulators two days before the stop work order, and were given no inclination that there were purported security issues with the project.

Revolution Wind argued that the stop work order violated previous protocols, which necessitate BOEM sending a notice of noncompliance if there are any issues. Likewise, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, another agency that oversees offshore wind, can issue a cessation order if a project fails to comply with federal regulations.

None of those avenues were taken in this case, according to the complaint.

“Not only did Defendants not provide a satisfactory explanation for issuing a Stop Work Order, they provided no explanation for the decisions beyond unsubstantiated ‘concerns,’” wrote Revolution Wind attorney Janice Schneider.

A spokesperson for the Department of Interior declined to comment Thursday, citing the pending litigation.

Revolution Wind did highlight previous security concerns from the Department of Defense in the complaint, including potential disruption to air defense radar in Falmouth. But the complaint said that the project backers and regulators had worked through them, finding several different mitigation strategies.

Revolution Wind, which is owned by Orsted and Skyborn Renewables, is asking the D.C. court to vacate the stop work order and find it illegal.