The Trump administration on Friday ordered that all construction stop on Revolution Wind, a $4 billion wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island that is already mostly built.
The 65-turbine project had obtained all necessary permits from the Biden administration, and nearly 70 percent of the turbines have been installed. The developers behind the project had said it was on track to produce enough electricity for roughly 350,000 homes in Rhode Island and Connecticut by next spring.
Matthew Giacona, the acting director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, issued a letter on Friday to Orsted, the Danish company building the wind farm, ordering it to “halt all ongoing activities” because of unspecified issues.
“In particular, BOEM is seeking to address concerns related to the protection of national security interests in the United States,” Mr. Giacona wrote, adding that Orsted “may not resume activities” until the agency has completed a review of the project.
The decision was first reported by The Daily Caller. The Interior Department declined to comment on the order to stop work on Revolution Wind.
The move is the latest in a series of escalating attacks by the Trump administration against the wind industry. The Interior Department had signaled that it would review wind projects that had already been approved by the federal government but which opponents have sued over and would consider rescinding the permits for those projects, even if they were already under construction.
Two weeks ago, the administration said it was reversing a Biden administration decision to approve the Lava Ridge Wind Project, a giant wind farm planned for southern Idaho. The Trump administration said it had discovered “legal deficiencies” in the original approval but did not provide details.
In April, the Trump administration ordered a halt to work at Empire Wind, a $5 billion wind farm off the coast of Long Island that was already under construction, without publicly providing a justification for doing so. After a month of negotiations with Gov. Kathy Hochul, Democrat of New York, the administration let Empire Wind move forward, but administration officials suggested that they had done so only after Ms. Hochul agreed to approve new gas pipelines in the state. Ms. Hochul has denied that any such deal was made.
Equinor, the developer behind Empire Wind, recently said that those delays and other regulatory changes affecting U.S. offshore wind projects had cost the company nearly $1 billion.
Erik Milito, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, which represents offshore energy companies, said in a statement the Trump administration decision would hurt the U.S. economy.
“Revolution Wind is already under construction and nearly complete, representing years of planning, billions in private investment, and significant progress for America’s offshore energy supply chain,” he said, adding, “Any pause or uncertainty at this stage could ripple across jobs, contracts and communities already benefiting from the project.”
Lisa Friedman is a Times reporter who writes about how governments are addressing climate change and the effects of those policies on communities.
Brad Plumer is a Times reporter who covers technology and policy efforts to address global warming.
Maxine Joselow reports on climate policy for The Times.
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