Revolution Wind Can Resume Work On Offshore Wind Project

From News Sources

A federal judge ruled on September 22 that the Danish energy company Orsted could restart work on Revolution Wind, a large wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island that is 80% complete. On August 22 the Interior Department (DOI) ordered the company to halt construction on the 65-turbine project. Revolution Wind wind turbines were scheduled to go online next spring.

Revolution Wind under construction. R.W. Photo.

Orsted promptly filed suit. Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted a preliminary injunction to the company, which means that construction can continue while the legal case moves forward.

The DOI cited unspecified national security concerns in its stop-work order but in response to Orsted’s lawsuit, the Department argued that the project failed to comply with some conditions of its permit, including coordinating with the U.S. Navy to avoid risks to military operations. Orsted argued that the project had already gone through an extensive national security review by DOI’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) before it received final approval in 2023.

“There is no question in my mind of irreparable harm to the plaintiff,” Judge Lamberth said of the administration’s actions. He said that if work does not proceed on the project, the “entire enterprise could collapse,” noting that a specialized ship necessary to complete the project that will no longer be available after December.

in January President Trump issued an executive order placing a moratorium on new development of offshore wind projects. In April, the Interior Department ordered that work be stopped at Empire Wind, a $5 billion wind farm off the coast of New York that had received all necessary approvals and was being built. After negotiations with New York Governor Kathy Hochul, the administration allowed Empire Wind to proceed.

The Department of Transportation withdrew or terminated a total of $679 million in funding for 12 offshore wind projects on August 29. The Commerce Department currently is investigating whether imports of wind turbines and their components threaten national security. The Internal Revenue Service recently put out new guidance that makes it harder for companies building wind and solar projects to qualify for federal tax incentives.

In relation to the Gulf of Maine, the Trump administration halted nearly $16 million in research for the University of Maine in April, just as the University was launching a scaled-down floating turbine prototype. In July, the administration erased all designated offshore Wind Energy Areas (WEA) around the country, including in the Gulf of Maine. The withdrawal did not affect the four commercial wind leases awarded to developers in 2024 or Maine’s offshore wind array research lease.