The US Department of Justice has asked a federal court to return the approval for Avangrid’s New England Wind offshore wind project to the Department of the Interior for reconsideration. The project is planned off the coast of Massachusetts and has not yet begun construction.
The motion, filed on 20 October 2026 in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, concerns the project’s Construction and Operations Plan (COP), which the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) approved in July 2024. The government wants the department to reassess the approval under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.
The case follows a legal challenge brought by Ack for Whales, a group of Nantucket residents that disputes the federal approval. The government had previously sought a remand of the approval in December 2025, but its earlier request to return the matter to the agency and pause the proceedings was unsuccessful.
New England Wind comprises two phases with a combined planned capacity of up to 2,600 MW. The development includes plans for up to 129 wind turbines off the Massachusetts coast. New England Wind 1, with a planned capacity of 791 MW, was selected in Massachusetts’ fourth offshore wind procurement round, although contracts have not been signed.
The latest motion seeks to allow the Department of the Interior to make a new decision following its reassessment. The request does not itself revoke the existing approval. Avangrid, the US subsidiary of Iberdrola, had not commented on the latest filing at the time of reporting.
The case follows similar government requests concerning other offshore wind developments, including the Maryland Offshore Wind Project and Revolution Wind.
