The Trump administration has ordered a halt on construction at Orsted’s Revolution Wind project off the Rhode Island coast, despite it being almost complete.
The Danish wind farm developer says the offshore wind project is about 80% complete, with 45 out of its 65 turbines already installed.
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Despite this, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued a stop work order, saying the government needed to review the project over unspecified national security concerns.
President Donald Trump has made no secret of his dislike of wind power, calling it “the scam of the century” in a social media post.
In April, the Trump administration issued a stop work order for Equinor’s 810MW Empire Wind 1 project off the coast of New York.
The project faced a month-long delay before the administration allowed construction to resume.
President Trump also signed an executive order temporarily halting offshore wind lease sales in federal waters and pausing the issuance of approvals, permits, and loans for onshore and offshore wind projects.
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Construction on Revolution Wind began in 2023, with the project expected to be fully operational in 2026. Orsted said it was evaluating the financial impact of the stop work order and was considering legal action.
Revolution Wind was expected to be Rhode Island and Connecticut’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, capable of powering more than 350,000 homes.
