The Trump administration’s sweeping offensive against wind energy development in the US has intensified with a new federal investigation into and freeze of Orsted’s Revolution Wind project, compounding uncertainty for the embattled offshore wind sector.
The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on late Friday issued a stop-work order for the Revolution Wind project offshore Rhode Island that is about 80% complete and poised to deliver 704 megawatts to nearby markets in Rhode Island and Connecticut. Orsted, owned 50.1% by the Danish state, and Global Infrastructure Partners-backed Skyborn Renewables are 50-50 partners on the scheme.
The fully permitted project is the second in-construction offshore wind scheme the administration has intervened on since President Donald Trump took office in January, with BOEM pausing Equinor’s Empire Wind 1 project in New York for about a month. That pause, which Equinor executives called unlawful, cost the company around $50 million per week and caused the Norwegian firm to consider canceling the scheme altogether to stem those losses.
The US Environmental Protection Agency separately withdrew a permit for the planned Atlantic Shores offshore wind project, leading developers Shell and EDF to terminate the venture.
