The Trump administration halted development on a virtually full offshore wind mission close to Rhode Island because the White Home continues to assault the battered U.S. offshore wind trade that scientists say is essential to the pressing battle in opposition to local weather change.
Danish wind farm developer Orsted says the Revolution Wind mission is about 80% full, with 45 out of its 65 generators already put in.
Regardless of that progress — and the truth that the mission had cleared years of federal and state evaluations — the Bureau of Ocean Power Administration issued the order Friday, saying the federal authorities must evaluation the mission and “tackle issues associated to the safety of nationwide safety pursuits of the US.”
It didn’t specify what the nationwide safety issues are.
President Donald Trump has made sweeping strides to prioritize fossil fuels and hinder renewable energy projects. Trump just lately referred to as wind and solar energy “THE SCAM OF THE CENTURY!” in a social media submit and vowed to not approve wind or “farmer destroying Photo voltaic” initiatives. “The times of stupidity are over within the USA!!!” he wrote on his Truth Social website this week.
Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee criticized the stop-work order and mentioned he and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont “will pursue each avenue to reverse the choice to halt work on Revolution Wind” in a post on X. Each governors are Democrats.
Building on Revolution Wind started in 2023, and the mission was anticipated to be totally operational subsequent 12 months. Orsted says it’s evaluating the monetary impression of stopping development and is contemplating authorized proceedings.
Revolution Wind is positioned greater than 15 miles (24 kilometers) south of the Rhode Island coast, 32 miles (51 kilometers) southeast of the Connecticut coast and 12 miles (19 kilometers) southwest of Martha’s Winery. Rhode Island is already residence to at least one offshore wind farm, the five-turbine Block Island Wind Farm.
Revolution Wind was anticipated to be Rhode Island and Connecticut’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, able to powering greater than 350,000 houses. The densely populated states have minimal area accessible for land-based vitality initiatives, which is why the offshore wind mission is taken into account essential for the states to satisfy their local weather objectives.
“This arbitrary resolution defies all logic and motive — Revolution Wind’s mission was already properly underway and employed lots of of expert tradesmen and girls. It is a main setback for a important mission in Connecticut, and I’ll battle it,” Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, mentioned in a press release.
Wind energy is the biggest supply of renewable vitality within the U.S. and supplies about 10% of the electricity generated in the nation.
“Immediately, the U.S. has just one totally operational large-scale offshore wind mission producing energy. That’s not sufficient to satisfy America’s rising vitality wants. We’d like extra vitality of every type, together with oil and gasoline, wind, and new and rising applied sciences,” mentioned Erik Milito, president of the Nationwide Ocean Industries Affiliation, a bunch that helps offshore oil, gasoline and wind.
Inexperienced Oceans, a nonprofit that opposes the offshore wind trade, applauded the BOEM’s resolution. “We’re grateful that the Trump Administration and the federal authorities are taking significant motion to protect the delicate ocean surroundings off the coasts of Rhode Island and Massachusetts,” the nonprofit mentioned in a press release.
That is the second main offshore wind mission the White Home has halted. Work was stopped on Empire Wind, a New York offshore wind mission, however development was allowed to renew after New York Sen. Chuck Schumer and Gov. Kathy Hochul, each Democrats, intervened.
“This administration has it precisely backwards. It’s attempting to prop up clunky, polluting coal vegetation whereas doing all it might to halt the quickest rising vitality sources of the longer term – photo voltaic and wind energy,” mentioned Package Kennedy, managing director for the ability division at Pure Assets Protection Council, in a press release. “Sadly, each American is paying the value for these misguided selections.”
Reporter Jennifer McDermott contributed from Windfall, Rhode Island, and Matthew Daly contributed from Washington.
