Trump Renews Battle to Upend US Offshore Wind-Farm Developments
The Trump administration wants to re-evaluate a key permit for wind farm off the Rhode Island coast, part of a broader campaign against the clean-energy sector.
The Justice Department asked a federal court to remand the Interior Department’s approval of a construction and operations plan for Orsted AS’s Revolution Wind project that began producing power in March, according to a filing Friday. The Interior Department agrees the move “is warranted so that the agency can revaluate its compliance with the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act,” the filing said.
Denmark-based Orsted declined to comment Tuesday. The Interior Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
President Donald Trump has waged an aggressive campaign against offshore wind installations since the day of his swearing-in in January 2025. His administration has resorted to stop-work orders, lease suspensions, permit revocations and $4 billion in buyout settlements in an effort to dismantle the pipeline of offshore projects.
Revolution Wind is located in the state represented by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, the top Democrat involved in permitting reform talks with Republican counterparts.
The courts have provided some relief to developers, allowing blocked wind farms to move forward. However, regulatory uncertainty has driven major international players to freeze or exit US projects. As of August, Revolution Wind was more than 95% complete, with 61 of 65 turbines installed, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.
The latest filing “injects uncertainty into a nearly completed offshore wind project that electricity planners and consumers in the Northeast are counting on,” said Hillary Bright, executive director of offshore wind power advocacy group Turn Forward.
The Trump administration previously sought to block construction of Revolution Wind, which is a joint venture between Orsted and Global Infrastructure Partners’ Skyborn Renewables.
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