Hundreds of jobs hang in the balance after halt on Revolution Wind project

NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (WJAR) — Hundreds of jobs are on hold, as the future of Rhode Island’s largest offshore wind project remains uncertain.

The Trump administration paused the project late Friday.

Expert say Revolution Wind has reportedly created more than 1,200 jobs in the region.

Many of those new jobs are occupied by union workers, and some told NBC 10 they were caught off guard by the stop-work order.

With 45 turbines already in the ocean 15 miles from the Rhode Island coast (and Orsted, the project’s parent company, planning to install 20 more), some union experts say Revolution Wind has been a game changer for several Ocean State residents.

“[This impacts] hundreds of workers. There’s 300 union jobs that are being performed out on the ocean right now and another 360 on shore,” said Patrick Crowley, the President of Rhode Island’s AFL-CIO chapter. “People are frustrated right now. This is an important part of our economy. These are good union jobs.”

Some critics of the Revolution Wind project say the national security concerns and impact on the commercial fishing industry would be harmful.

Even with this criticism, amplified by the Trump administration’s decision Friday, some members of Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation are pushing back to try and get the project across the finish line.

“We’re trying to determine what leverage we can pull that’ll help get this project recommenced and completed,” said Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI).

Senator Reed believes the work stoppage could be a bargaining chip for the Trump administration, referring to the saga with Equinor’s Empire Wind project in New York a couple of months ago.

“[The Trump Administration] went to [New York Governor Kathy Hochul] and said ‘we want you to approve a natural gas pipeline which was having difficulty being approved.’ Well eventually, surprise, the pipeline got approved and they lifted the ban on the completion of the project,” Sen. Reed said.

Orsted said in a statement that they are working to resolve the stoppage and complete the project before the end of 2026.