The last time I reported on the Revolution Wind offshore wind farm project, the Trump administration had ordered a halt to its construction of the Revolution Wind project.
This stop-work order came despite the project off the coast of Rhode Island being about 80% complete, with 45 out of 65 turbines already installed and significant investment already made.
As is often the case, there is a lot more to the story than original reports would have you believe. New court filings from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) provide new insight into why the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) decided to pull the plug.
According to affidavits submitted by DOI officials, the developers (Ørsted and Skyborn Renewables) allegedly failed to submit required plans detailing how their construction and operation would impact national ocean research activities and American defense interests in the area.
“As of the date of this Declaration, still DOI not received any information that these requirements have been satisfied and given how long they remain pending, the department has concerns as to whether they will ever be met,” Adam Suess, acting assistant secretary for land and minerals management for the interior department, wrote in a Sept. 12 affidavit.Suess’ written testimony counters the criticism from state officials and project developers accusing the Trump administration of arbitrary and unlawful abuses of power in a pair of federal lawsuits filed Sept. 4.Ørsted and Skyborn Renewables, co-developers of the $5 billion wind project, filed their lawsuit against Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and other federal agencies and directors in D.C., while attorneys general in Rhode Island and Connecticut took their legal challenge to Rhode Island federal court. The two southern New England states were under contracts to buy electricity from the 704-megawatt project starting next year. Now in limbo, thousands of labor jobs are on the line, along with both states’ abilities to meet their climate change mandates and the reliability of the regional electric grid.The administration has yet to respond to the AGs’ lawsuit. But in documents submitted in the D.C. lawsuit filed by project developers, federal officials claimed Revolution Wind developers failed to submit required information about how the project might affect national security and scientific surveys.
The federal government usually requires offshore wind developers to finish all environmental, construction, and economic plans before they can start building. In the case of Revolution Wind, regulators gave the developers extra time to submit some details, even after approving the project in November 2023. A letter from BOEM in May 2024 allowed Ørsted until July 2025 to hand in its plan for protecting federal marine fisheries surveys.
Apparently, Ørsted did not believe the rules applied to them. However, as they were essentially given free rein to pursue their green fantasy projects under Biden, they were likely surprised when the Trump administration noticed the information deadline had passed and acted.
A separate agreement signed in the fall of 2024 between the Department of Defense and project developers outlines the need to “deconflict the project with national defense interests.” Project developers agreed to coordinate work with at-sea defense contractors, acknowledging potential interference from fiber optic and acoustic monitoring equipment and “risk related to foreign investment.” However, no additional documentation had to be turned in to the Defense Department unless the layout or structures of the project changed, according to the agreement.Suess suggests the administration is awaiting information, though.“To date the Department of Interior has not received any information that any of these national security concerns referenced in this paragraph have been addressed by Revolution Wind,” he wrote.Meaghan Wims, a spokesperson for Ørsted, declined to provide additional comment Tuesday. However, Ørsted executives in prior court filings painted a different picture of communication with federal agencies.
Meanwhile, Connecticut and Rhode Island have filed an injunction to restart Revolution Wind, while Ørsted is desperately trying to raise capital if construction can resume.
The states said the supportive infrastructure is also far along, with 90% of physical construction at the mainland interconnection site “substantially completed,” one of two offshore wind utility substations installed, and 84 out of 85 miles of utility export cable installed.The wind farm’s construction was set to wrap up in 2026. The project is owned jointly by Ørsted and Global Infrastructure Partners, which purchased Eversource Energy’s 50% share last year. Though Eversource sold its stake, the company was placed on “rating watch negative” by Fitch Ratings on Monday due to its remaining cost obligations to the endangered project.Ørsted announced Monday that it will offer shares at a deep discount in a rights issue with the goal of raising $9.4 billion, saying in a company announcement that the stop work order against Revolution Wind had “further [emphasized] the need to strengthen the company’s capital structure.”
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