Revolution Wind Developers Apparently Ignored Fed’s Information Requests Related to National Security and Fisheries
Meanwhile, Connecticut and Rhode Island have filed an injunction to restart the offshore wind project.
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.
Whoa – the Biden administration allowed Orsted to proceed with the construction of Revolution Wind without fulfilling two significant requirements of their application. https://t.co/bDCbXyxVqy
— Monique Chartier (@MoniqAR) September 19, 2025
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.”
Connecticut and Rhode Island file for injunction to restart Revolution Wind https://t.co/HLNTZoll0a via @UtilityDive
— Bradley Foster (@Brad_E_Foster) September 19, 2025
DONATE
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
Tear them all down
They’re not only an eyesore but also kill birds.
And sea life.
“Connecticut and Rhode Island file for injunction to restart Revolution Wind”
Well of course they do.
#Resistance
I wonder if there residents mind the extra cost, the dead fish and whales, and the flying windmill blades washing up everywhere,
The New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association sure as hell does, but they are not a big and powerful lobby and can often be swamped (though not always). As far as everybody else goes, I believe the state motto of RI is “Semper Oblivious.” Connecticut, on the other hand, has practically no skin in the game, and kneejerks along with RI mainly because Orange Man Is Bad.
If they don’t finish it our local politicians don’t get their kickbacks so of course they’re suing. Our utility bills are already paying for all the green projects and the rates have steadily increased. Also if we don’t have broken windmill blades wash ashore every couple of years how will Sheldon Whitehouse’s wife be able to get million dollar grants to clean it up?
He, we get to use Environmental Impact Statements. Next generation nuclear power is much better.
As a former pressurized water reactor plant operator, I wholeheartedly agree.
Before I read this post, I thought Trump’s torpedoing was crazy because the project was almost completed.
However, the promoters knew their project was not yet approved.
The promoters, continued with construction and accepted the risk the project would not be approved.
The promoters should now be removing all of their debris from the sea.
🎶
Under the sea (bum-da-dum-dum) /
Under the sea (bum-da-dum-dum) /
Market returns /
Money we burned /
Under the sea (bum-da-dum-dum)…
The promoters were betting on Kamala DumbDumb to be seated in the Brown House. (White is sooooooo racissss).
That long shot bet, which became an even larger long shot after Trump survived what could have been a sure assassination, didn’t pay off.
Heels Up would have just ignored the fact that required impact studies were not submitted. That would be a big IF since we all know that Obama would have continued into his fourth term by using his surrogates to run the country from the pseudo Brown House in Kalorama.
Apparently, the selection of Tommy Crooks was a poor decision. It appears that Tyler would have been a better choice, but he/she may have already been booked.
The leftists are our enemy.
Stupidest idea ever.
Go to the site ‘green_oceans.org’ for more info and proof that this is the stupidest idea ever.
Not just stopping these environmental killing monstrosities but removing them is key.
Rhode Islands oligarchs big beef with shutting them down is all union job related. By that I mean kickbacks will end.
Get those things off Coxes Ledge, a federally protected area of importance. The sooner the better
Green kickbacks, USAID kickbacks, federal subsidy kickbacks, Ivy League college kickbacks… everyone gets a kickback except the taxpayer.
What’s a few Trillion$ amongst friends.
The project never had final approval due to the companies failure to abide by the agreed terms and submit the reports. They went ahead with construction banking on it getting so far towards completion no one would stop it no matter what. Sucks to be them and just another example of Biden’s corruption and lawlessness
I’ve been wondering how close this thing is to our subs’ standard approachs/departures to the Base in Groton, and how the underwater noise would affect them.
In the meantime I just get to admire the pieces of the towers sitting on the pier by the Goldstar I-95 bridge. I also still wonder if the blasting for that pier might not have played at least a small part in the New London church collapse the other year.
Sunk costs fallacy. Just because you’ve wasted all this already spent money, those can’t be included in estimates of present or future value. As is known, wind is intermittent, costly, and the windmills themselves are an environmental disaster over their very short lifespan. There must be standby dispatchable power (natural gas, coal, nuclear) alongside wind to ensure supply. They kill wildlife, have unknown consequences for fisheries and the ocean floor, and after they are no longer productive and have to be taken down, there’s no environmentally safe way to dispose of them.
Billy Bob Thornton’s character in Landman has it right — they are a bottomless pit of stupid.