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The Trump administration has taken another big swipe at the offshore wind industry, issuing a stop work order on Friday afternoon on Orsted’s Revolution Wind project, which as of this month was well under construction and 80% complete.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management cited “concerns that have arisen” during the project-wide review ordered by President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 wind memo, as well as national security concerns.
“In particular, BOEM is seeking to address concerns related to the protection of national security interests of the United States and prevention of interference with reasonable uses of the exclusive economic zone, the high seas, and the territorial seas,” wrote BOEM Acting Director Matthew Giacona in the two-page order.
Less than one year ago, the agency signed a memorandum of understanding with the Defense Department, formalizing collaboration between the agencies to ensure that lease areas and project plans will “strengthen the nation’s energy security in ways that are compatible with military operations.”
In a statement, Orsted said it is “evaluating all options to resolve the matter expeditiously. This includes engagement with relevant permitting agencies for any necessary clarification or resolution as well as through potential legal proceedings, with the aim being to proceed with continued project construction towards … the second half of 2026.”
Revolution Wind, 12 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard, is slated to send power to both Rhode Island and Connecticut with 65 turbines; 45 of those turbines have been installed.
Friday’s order is the latest escalation, and follows nearly a dozen federal actions and regulatory changes in the last two months that limit access to tax credits and mandate more and more project reviews by multiple agencies.
Jason Grumet, CEO of the American Clean Power Association, whose members are wind developers, in a statement said the stop work order is a “broken promise” to communities, employees and businesses working on and to be powered by the project.
“This is not the first time extreme partisan politics has derailed sound energy policy. The unfortunate message to investors is clear: the U.S. is no longer a reliable place for long-term energy investments,” Grumet said. “Here again, the Trump administration is raising alarms about rising energy prices while blocking new supply from reaching the grid.”
Green Oceans, a Rhode Island-based group suing the federal government over its approval of the project, applauded BOEM.
“This decision is a critical step forward in protecting marine life and our coastal communities from environmental harm and skyrocketing electric bills,” the organization said in an email. “This decisive action demonstrates that the federal government finally recognizes the seriously flawed permitting process that allowed this project and others to move forward.”
National security claims
Groups opposed to offshore wind development have been highlighting national security as an issue.
Last month, for example, three Republican congressmen in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi urged the Department of Justice to conduct a review of offshore wind projects for national security threats.
Anti-wind Facebook groups in posts have asked followers to write to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum about national security threats, providing his office’s email and phone number.
And Green Oceans in June announced a report it commissioned that lays out a blueprint for the federal government to cancel offshore wind leases. Among several reasons, it lists national security interference as grounds for lease cancellation.
The report states the Defense Department can provide information to inform decisions “regarding lease cancellation on national security grounds.”
According to a public relations firm representing Green Oceans, individuals with the organization joined representatives of the fishing industry in a stakeholder meeting with BOEM officials in late May.
The firm told The Light by email that the meeting was “exclusively about the commercial fishing industry and Tribal concerns,” but that the stakeholders also remain concerned about national security, among other issues.
In June, the firm declined The Light’s request to interview Green Oceans representatives, stating the organization wanted to give the “Department of Interior the space” to implement Trump’s Jan. 20 wind memo.
A one-page record provided by BOEM through FOIA identified the May 23, 45-minute meeting as a “Meeting with Commercial Fishing Associations.” BOEM Acting Director Giacona, who signed Friday’s order, was listed as a required attendee.
The Light asked BOEM and the Interior Department for further details on the cited national security concerns and stop work order. Spokespersons on Monday said the offices had no further comment.
In the project’s record of decision, BOEM said it consulted with the Defense Department (DOD) to address national security interests.
“While reviewing the [construction and operations plan], BOEM coordinated with DOD to develop measures necessary to safeguard against potential liabilities and impacts on DOD activities,” the document reads.
In addition to this stop work order, the Commerce Department this month opened a national security investigation into the import of wind turbine components — many of which come from Europe.
One of Commerce’s listed concerns is the ability of “foreign persons to weaponize the capabilities or attributes of foreign-built wind turbines and their parts or components.”
Targeting offshore wind
Friday’s order marks the second time the Trump administration has demanded a halt to an under-construction offshore wind farm. Empire Wind received a similar stop work order in April, which was lifted after a month — and after the administration allegedly secured a deal for a gas pipeline with New York state officials. (New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has denied a deal was made.)
In an interview on Fox News to discuss the Revolution Wind order, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said he was just in New England “where they rely on foreign sources of energy, where they can use more natural gas. Well, Williams pipeline wants to build a pipeline called Constitution Pipeline delivering natural gas from Pennsylvania into New England.”
Last month, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said he was engaged in talks with the Trump administration to build or expand gas pipelines for the state and New England, CT Mirror reported.
Meanwhile, in Rhode Island (and elsewhere in New England), environmental groups are fighting a proposed gas pipeline expansion, called Project Maple.
Governor Lamont and Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee in statements said they would pursue all avenues to reverse the stop work order.
News 12 reported Monday that Gov. Lamont said, “I think there is a deal to be had. I don’t know what the ask is.”
Oceantic Network, another wind industry organization, in a statement called BOEM’s order unlawful, and focused on the economic impacts it will have: “halting work on Revolution Wind will… idle Gulf Coast vessel operators that have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in new or retrofitted vessels, and jeopardize the livelihoods of union workers.”
The president of the Laborers’ International Union of North America in a statement said members who had construction jobs would be out of work on Monday: “They promised cheaper energy and jobs. Instead they killed union work, raised bills, and weakened America’s future.”
The Interior Department said that it based its decision about Empire Wind on a NOAA study that it has yet to release (through FOIA, it shared a fully redacted version that has not provided any clarity on what informed the decision). Equinor, the company developing Empire Wind, said the project was losing about $50 million per week under the freeze, and threatened cancellation if the ban continued much longer.
It’s likely Revolution Wind will face significant added costs as a result of delays borne of this stop work order, which has no known end date. There may also be an added cost of potential legal action, which Orsted said it is considering.
BOEM’s order states that under the law, the project is able to appeal the determination with the agency.
Revolution Wind is one of several projects in the under-construction category. Others include Empire Wind, where foundations are being installed south of New York; Vineyard Wind, which has more than 40 of its 62 turbines in the water; Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Farm, which is about 60% complete; and Sunrise Wind, another Orsted project with turbine foundations installed east of New York.
Revolution Wind is slated to power up to 350,000 homes in Rhode Island and Connecticut. Orsted’s other project, South Fork Wind (12 turbines), has been operational since last year.
The Light independently reviewed federal data to calculate that South Fork Wind has been powering about 53,000 homes on average (and as many as 73,000 in the winter when wind speeds are higher). It has also achieved a capacity factor of over 50%, which approximately equals or exceeds that of natural gas or coal-powered plants.
Email Anastasia E. Lennon at alennon@newbedfordlight.org.
100% shut down Off Shore Wind and protect our Fishing Industry, Oceans, Rivers, Bays, Inlets, Coves, and Waterways.
We need to protect our natural beauty and resources against this because it does not equal out, the carbon footprint of these projects cancels out any good they produce, not to mention the harm to marine life.!!!!!!!
Wind power is old school technology. Solar and nuclear energy will be the way of the future.
Keep going President Trump!! STILL WINNING!!
That should’ve never started
I haven’t seen one study that wind power is clearly the best way to generate power, or beneficial to residential or commercial rate payers. If the “Green Energy” fanatics are so opposed to fossil fuels, let them pay the difference in our energy costs.
Why would anyone invest in any enterprise that is subject to capricious regulation with no accountability? At the moment, unless you agree to oversight by whimsical leadership, success is impossible. We need to ensure the right and ability to vote is guaranteed.
This is a big much welcome step, now it’s time to start the process of removing those already installed before they begin to rot and degrade. The Danish company behind these might in the near future be bankrupt. The time to start talking legal action is now while they have the means to remove these.
President Trump stopped this because he HATES Massachusetts
period……..