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The Trump administration’s latest attack on an in-progress offshore wind project is now being challenged in court. Two lawsuits announced Thursday — one brought by the wind farm’s developers, the other by Rhode Island and Connecticut — seek immediate relief from a federal stop-work order that froze construction of Revolution Wind two weeks ago.
The developers, Danish energy giant Ørsted and investment firm Global Infrastructure Partners, filed a complaint Thursday morning in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, requesting a preliminary injunction that would allow Revolution Wind’s offshore construction to resume. The 65-turbine project being built 15 miles from Rhode Island’s coastline is 80% completed.
Hours later, attorneys general from both Rhode Island and Connecticut announced a separate lawsuit against the Trump administration, asking the court to declare the construction halt unlawful — and overturn it.
If allowed to proceed, the project would generate enough carbon-free electricity to power more than 350,000 households across the two states. Should President Donald Trump tank the development, it would be a disaster for New England’s grid.
The project was set to come online next year, and New England’s grid operator had already factored its 704 megawatts into its plans. Delaying delivery of that power on such short notice “will increase risks to reliability,” ISO New England warned in a statement last week, adding that the hold-up could also increase utility bills and discourage future investment. New England governors, labor representatives, and even local fishermen have also demanded Trump overturn his decision.
“Does this sound like a federal government that is prioritizing the American people? This is bizarre, this is unlawful, this is potentially devastating, and we won’t stand by and watch it happen,” said Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha in a statement.
The lawsuit comes as the Trump administration steps up its already hostile campaign against offshore wind. There’s new chaos almost daily.
Since ordering Revolution Wind to stop construction in late August, the administration has filed documents with federal courts signaling it intends to revoke permits for projects near Maryland and Massachusetts. The Transportation Department clawed back $679 million in federal funding for infrastructure supporting offshore wind. And White House officials are reportedly directing a wide range of agencies — including unrelated departments like Health and Human Services — to seek out reasons to cancel projects already underway.
In choosing litigation over negotiation, the moves made on Thursday mark a shift in how the wind industry is responding to the U.S. government’s new war on the energy resource.
When the Interior Department stopped New York’s Empire Wind project in April, developer Equinor opted not to take the Trump administration to court — even as its losses rose to nearly $1 billion. Instead, the firm and diplomats from its home country and majority shareholder Norway lobbied the government to overturn its decision. In May, the Trump administration reversed course, claiming that it had struck a deal with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) to allow gas pipelines in the state. Hochul’s office denies any such deal was made.
In both instances, the Trump administration used vague and dubious justifications for the stop-work orders. For Revolution Wind, the Interior Department cited “national security” concerns that a retired Navy commander called “specious.” For Empire Wind, it pointed to a mysterious report that officials blacked out entirely on a federal website and still refuse to share with the public.
Ørsted and others are now embarking on a legal battle that could determine not only the fate of Revolution Wind, but whether a more aggressive response is a cheaper and better way to push back on Trump’s always-escalating crusade against “windmills.”
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