Trump Administration Sued For Halting Nearly Finished Offshore Wind Farm

Offshore wind developers and the attorneys general of Rhode Island and Connecticut have filed lawsuits against the Trump administration after it ordered construction to stop on the nearly complete Revolution Wind project off the Rhode Island coast.

The $5 billion project, co-owned by Danish company Ørsted and Global Infrastructure Partners, was already 80% complete when the federal government issued a stop-work order on August 22.

The order has put thousands of jobs and future clean energy supplies for the two New England states at risk.

According to Ørsted, Revolution Wind supports more than 2,500 U.S. jobs across construction, shipbuilding, operations and manufacturing. Once operational, it was expected to generate enough power for about 350,000 homes in Rhode Island and Connecticut.

The project had secured all federal and state approvals in 2023 after nearly a decade of reviews and was scheduled to be completed next year.

The lawsuits were filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., with developers calling the halt unlawful and beyond the government’s legal authority. They argued that the order violated constitutional due process rights and would cause over $1 billion in losses if the project is permanently canceled.

Rhode Island and Connecticut also filed their own suit, saying they want to protect their residents’ economic and energy interests. Their joint statement stressed that the project could save ratepayers hundreds of millions of dollars over 20 years.

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong described the order as baseless and harmful to the region’s energy future.

The Trump administration cited national security concerns as the reason for the halt. Officials have also claimed offshore wind is too costly, harms marine life, and impacts ocean currents and fishing.

White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said that wind farms had been given unfair advantages under the Biden administration and that Trump’s executive orders were meant to reassess leasing and permitting practices.

Revolution Wind rejected claims that its project threatens marine mammals, pointing to scientific studies that attribute whale deaths mainly to ship strikes and fishing gear entanglements.

References: CNN, Bloomberg

Source: Maritime Shipping News