Trump administration orders halt to construction of Revolution Wind project off RI

• The Trump administration halted construction on Revolution Wind, a $4 billion offshore wind farm project near Rhode Island.
• The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management cited national security concerns as the reason for the halt.
• The project is about 80% complete and was expected to begin generating power next year.

PROVIDENCE – The Trump administration has halted construction of Revolution Wind, the wind farm being built south of the Rhode Island coast that has already installed 45 of its 65 turbines.

In a letter sent on Friday, Aug. 22, to Ørsted, the Danish company that is a partner on the joint venture developing the project, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management ordered a stop to all ongoing activities related to the 704-megawatt wind farm that has contracts to deliver power to Rhode Island and Connecticut.

The bureau cited an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in January that aimed to rein in the expansion of offshore wind power in America. At the time, industry experts believed the order would stop proposed projects from moving through the permitting process, but that it wouldn’t affect wind farms like Revolution Wind that were already under construction.

The letter from acting director Matthew Giacona says the bureau ordered the halt so that it can address concerns that have arisen during a review of the project sparked by the president’s order, in particular in relation “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.”

Onshore construction for the wind farm began more than two years ago, and the work shifted offshore in the spring of 2024. The first turbine went up at the project site about 15 miles south of Little Compton in September 2024.

Seventy percent of the turbines are now in place and the total project is about 80% complete, according to Ørsted, which is in a 50/50 partnership on the wind farm with Global Infrastructure Partners’ Skyborn Renewables. It was on track to start delivering power to the electric grid next year.

Ørsted 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 [commercial operation date] in the second half of 2026,” the company said in a statement.

More: Trump cuts $32M in transportation funds from RI. Will it affect Washington Bridge rebuild?

“Ørsted is evaluating the potential financial implications of this development, considering a range of scenarios, including legal proceedings,” the statement continued.

Revolution Wind’s role in meeting RI Act on Climate targets

Construction of Revolution Wind is a key part of Rhode Island’s climate policy. Rhode Island is set to get 400 megawatts of power capacity from the project while the remaining 304 megawatts will go to Connecticut. The developers say the wind farm will generate enough power for 350,000 households.

Rhode Island needs to ramp up supplies of renewable energy to slash greenhouse gases and comply with the mandates put in place by the Act on Climate, the 2021 state law that requires Rhode Island to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

A spokesperson for Gov. Dan McKee, who signed the act into law, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The American Clean Power Association laid the blame for the stop-work order on “extreme partisan politics.”

“Here again, the Trump Administration is raising alarms about rising energy prices while blocking new supply from reaching the grid,” CEO Jason Grumet said.

This is the second time the administration has ordered a stop to an offshore wind farm already under construction. In April, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued an order affecting Empire Wind, a project off New York, only to reverse course a month later.

The decision on Revolution Wind only adds to the economic uncertainty that arose from that move, said Liz Burdock, CEO of the Oceantic Network, an offshore wind industry group.

“This dramatic action further erodes investor confidence in the U.S. market across all industries and undermines progress on shared national priorities – shipyard revitalization, steel and port investments, and energy dominance,” she said.