The Trump administration lost its initial attempt to block construction on the Revolution Wind project, but scored a minor victory Thursday.
A federal judge in Rhode Island granted its request to move a second lawsuit challenging the Revolution Wind stop-work order to a D.C. federal court. The move shifts the pending challenge by attorneys general in Rhode Island and Connecticut to the same venue as the lawsuit filed by wind project developers.
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The pair of lawsuits were filed the same day in separate court venues, with the developers’ complaint focused on the economic and financial hardships created by the sudden halt to construction. The AGs’ lawsuit centered on the economic and environmental harms for their states, where thousands of union jobs and critical state decarbonization mandates rest upon the project’s completion.
The 704-megawatt project is set to provide power to 350,000 homes across Rhode Island and Connecticut once completed next year. Work on the 65-turbine project being built 15 miles south of Rhode Island’s coast was 80% completed when federal regulators abruptly ordered developers to halt work on Aug. 22, citing national security concerns.
The developers’ lawsuit progressed faster, with a Sept. 22 order from a D.C. federal judge temporarily blocking the Trump administration from continuing to halt work on the project. However, the AGs have continued to pursue their own preliminary injunction from a Rhode Island judge as extra assurance against the anti-wind federal administration, arguing their interest in the project was separate and distinct from the project developers.
Justice Department attorneys countered that the AGs case should be moved to D.C. and consolidated with the developers’ complaint.
U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy of Rhode Island agreed with the AGs that the similarities do not automatically entitle the Trump administration to a transfer. However, the six-page order noted the “overwhelming similarities” between the two lawsuits and the “potential for inconsistent judgments” in granting the transfer.
Timothy Rondeau, a spokesperson for R.I. Attorney General Peter F. Neronha’s office, said it was still reviewing the decision when asked for comment Thursday.
“We are prepared to pursue our case in any venue,” Rondeau wrote in an emailed response.
The venue change comes four days after a federal judge in Massachusetts struck down Trump’s executive order pausing permitting for offshore wind projects in response to a separate lawsuit filed by more than a dozen state attorneys general, including Neronha. The order published on Trump’s first day in office was used by federal regulators to justify the stop-work order on Revolution Wind, alongside other key area projects such as SouthCoast Wind in Massachusetts.
“The Trump Administration cannot cancel clean energy projects just because they believe doing so is politically expedient, and yesterday’s win reaffirms this,” Neronha said in a statement following the Massachusetts federal judge’s ruling on Monday. “And we certainly aren’t going to stand by while the President arbitrarily attempts to curb what progress we’ve made. We’ve fought him here and won; we’ve fought him over his unlawful attempt to cancel the Revolution Wind project and we are winning; and we will continue to fight where this Administration causes harm to the American people.”
Nancy Lavin is a senior staff writer for the Rhode Island Current.
