After the Trump administration attempted to halt construction of Revolution Wind — a $4 billion offshore wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island — a federal judge ruled that the work is allowed to continue.
A federal judge issued an order last Monday, blocking the White House’s stop-work order while the case works its way through the courts.
Construction on the wind farm, which was 80% complete at the time of the stop-work order, resumed a day after the ruling.
Under its 20-year contract with Rhode Island and Connecticut utility companies, Revolution Wind claims it will provide 704 megawatts of electricity at a significantly cheaper rate than fossil fuel sources currently offer.
The farm could end up generating a quarter of Rhode Island’s electricity, The Herald previously reported.
The month-long pause cost the company over $2 million a day, said David Langlais, business manager of Iron Workers Local 37 — one of the unions representing Revolution Wind workers.
The wind farm paid full wages and benefits during the construction pause, according to Langlais.
The Rhode Island congressional delegation — U.S. Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Reps. Gabe Amo (D-R.I. 1) and Seth Magaziner ’06 (D-R.I. 2) — welcomed the injunction as “the right outcome,” in a statement to The Herald.
The project is “set to deliver affordable clean energy to the grid at a lower cost to consumers than the current market rate,” Magaziner said in a separate statement to The Herald.
But Revolution Wind is not in the clear yet. The injunction is subject to appeal, and circumstances could change, depending on the final ruling.
Despite this recent court win, Attorneys General Peter Neronha P’19 P’22 and William Tong ’95 — representing Rhode Island and Connecticut, respectively — are pressing on with a separate suit filed attempting to block the federal government’s stop-work order, according to a Sept. 29 filing.
“Though the stop work order is not currently in effect … that situation is tenuous at best,” the filing reads.
The Rhode Island-based environmental nonprofit Green Oceans has also joined Revolution Wind’s suit as an intervenor. They also filed their own lawsuit in January 2024 in an attempt to block the project’s permits. In an interview with The Herald, Barbara Chapman P’18 P’20, a Green Oceans trustee and member of their legal executive committee, claimed offshore wind turbines disrupt important marine habitats and fishing grounds.
In May, Green Oceans released a 66-page report claiming the government could legally cancel offshore wind leases.
The Trump administration remains committed to reviewing Revolution Wind’s permits and their larger fight against offshore wind, White House Spokesperson Taylor Rogers wrote in an email to The Herald.
“President Trump began cutting red tape on day one to lower energy costs and improve grid reliability,” Rogers wrote. She alleged that “offshore wind projects were given unfair, preferential treatment” during the Biden administration and that “the rest of the energy industry was hindered by burdensome regulations,” resulting in high prices.
The Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management intends to continue “its investigation into possible impacts by (Revolution Wind) to national security” as the wind farm resumes construction, Spokesperson Victoria Peabody wrote in an email to The Herald.
Clarification: This article has been updated to better reflect Green Oceans's legal challenges against Revolution Wind.
