Rhode Island and Connecticut attorneys general in legal filings Monday asked to consolidate their federal lawsuit against the Trump administration with a separate complaint lodged by the developers of the Revolution Wind project.
Both lawsuits were initially filed in the wake of an Aug. 22 stop work order from federal regulators on the 65-turbine project, then 80% complete south of Rhode Island’s coastline. Both complaints sought court intervention – the developers in D.C. and the AGs in Rhode Island – to bar the Trump administration from what plaintiffs argued was an unconstitutional overreach of federal authority on the 704-megawatt wind project.
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The developers’ case progressed more quickly, with Senior Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granting a preliminary injunction on Sept. 22 temporarily barring federal regulators from interfering with the project. The AGs’ case languished in Providence with no court order until being transferred to D.C. in early December.
The two complaints remained on separate trajectories when the U.S. Department of Interior issued a second suspension order on Dec. 22, forcing Revolution Wind, and four other area projects, to press pause for 90 days.
By Jan. 1, Revolution Wind LLC, a partnership between Danish renewable energy company Orsted A/S and a consortium of other companies led by Skyborn Renewables, replied with a flurry of new court filings asking for a second preliminary injunction. The new submissions reprised many of the same arguments of the original case: The Trump administration’s latest move was “arbitrary and capricious” with significant financial, economic and environmental consequences for the companies if work did not resume quickly.
The project was 87% complete when the second suspension was handed down, with 58 of 65 turbines built and offshore installation on track to be completed by mid-February. Since Dec. 22, the project developers estimate they are losing $1.44 million a day, with a projected $6 billion loss and risks of broken contracts if they cannot resume work by Jan. 12, according to court filings.
Rhode Island and Connecticut stand to suffer major losses, too, underscored in the lawsuit filed by R.I. Attorney General Peter Neronha and Connecticut Attorney General William Tong.
The 704 megawatts of nameplate capacity is enough to power 350,000 homes across both states, with the 400 megawatt share directed toward Rhode Island representing one-fifth of the state’s electricity needs, according to a Jan. 5 affidavit from Chistopher Kearns, the state’s acting energy commissioner. The renewable energy infusion is critical to meeting mandated state emissions reductions under the 2021 Act on Climate Law, and to smoothing seasonal fuel supply and price fluctuations across the regional grid.
“Any significant impact to this project, including but not limited to the loss of the 704MW load, would have grid reliability risks to Rhode Island and New England,” Kearns wrote.
The project has already employed more than 1,000 union laborers in Rhode Island, including 200 on standby amid the second pause. And even after Rhode Island’s first major wind project is up and running, other area projects will rely on the Ocean State’s workforce expertise and upgraded ports to assist in their own construction and operations.
“Revolution Wind’s investments have continued to catalyze infrastructure upgrades at ProvPort and the Port of Davisville, and positioned Rhode Island as a leader in attracting global ocean economy companies,” Kearns wrote.
The AGs have asked Lamberth to rule on their request to consolidate their case with the Revolution Wind developers by Wednesday. They are also seeking to join the developers’ motion for a second preliminary injunction, with a hearing scheduled in Lamberth’s D.C. courtroom on Monday, Jan. 12.
Meaghan Wims, a spokesperson for Orsted, declined to comment in an emailed response Tuesday.
Matthew Nies, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice, which is representing the Trump administration in both cases, declined to comment in an emailed response Tuesday. However, Justice Department attorneys previously argued that the AGs’ case should be transferred to D.C. and consolidated with the Revolution Wind developers lawsuit.
Nancy Lavin is a senior staff writer for the Rhode Island Current.
