PROVIDENCE – The developers behind Revolution Wind moved to block the latest federal order suspending the offshore wind project on Thursday in what's become an ongoing legal battle over a project that is already nearing completion.
The motion for a preliminary injunction filed on Jan. 1 targets a Dec. 22 order issued by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management that suspended the project’s federal lease, effectively halting final construction and power generation plans for the nearly completed 65-turbine offshore wind farm.
The developers of the project, a joint venture between Global Infrastructure Partners’ Skyborn Renewables and Orsted A/S, said the lease suspension violates federal law and threatens substantial harm to the project, which was expected to begin generating power as soon as this month.
The developers said Thursday's legal action was necessary to protect their rights after years of federal and state permitting and billions of dollars already spent.
Revolution Wind secured all required permits in 2023 following a review process that began more than nine years ago and included consultations with the U.S. Department of Defense and multiple federal agencies, according to the developers.
They noted that the project is about 87% complete, with offshore foundations installed, most turbines erected and cable installation finished.
In August, the Trump administration issued a stop-work order halting construction on Revolution Wind, citing national security concerns. The project’s developers challenged that order in federal court in September, with Rhode Island and Connecticut attorneys general joining the lawsuit.
In that case, a federal judge ruled the stop-work order to be “arbitrary and capricious” later that same month, allowing construction to resume.
The project is designed to supply power to more than 350,000 homes under long-term power purchase agreements with utilities in Rhode Island and Connecticut and is positioned as a key component of the Northeast’s energy supply.
On Friday, Gov. Daniel J. McKee, U.S. Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse and Jack Reed, U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo and labor leaders met at the CIC Providence building, a hub for several companies involved in offshore wind development, to voice opposition to the federal pause and highlight the potential economic and workforce impacts of delaying offshore wind development.
“For the second time now, Trump is telling international companies who have invested billions in our country that America's permits are retractable. That our word is worthless,” McKee said.
State officials have said the project has created thousands of jobs tied to construction, manufacturing, and port infrastructure.
Nicholas Reynolds, a Rhode Island native and unionized worker who has spent the past three years on the Revolution Wind project, described the human impact of the shutdown.
“Twelve thousand people like me were laid off, and the project was already 85% done,” said Reynolds, who is a member of International Union of Painters and Allied Trades Local 195. “We had good jobs, domestic energy for 350,000 homes, and a year left of construction. Now we’re frozen out in the dead of winter with no answers.”
(UPDATED to add comment from Gov. Daniel J. McKee, added in the 11th paragraph, and Nicholas Reynolds, added in the 13th and 14th paragraphs.)
Matthew McNulty is a PBN staff writer. He can be reached at McNulty@PBN.com or on X at @MattMcNultyNYC.
