Posted on September 8, 2025
Offshore wind developer Orsted, along with the states of Rhode Island and Connecticut, are suing the Trump administration for halting the nearly completed Revolution Wind project off the Rhode Island coast.
In late August, the Trump administration ordered a halt on construction at the offshore project, saying the government needed to review the project over unspecified national security concerns.
In its lawsuit filing, Orsted called the stop work order “arbitrary and capricious”, and highlighted the fact billions of dollars had been spent on the project.
Orsted said it had spent $5 billion so far and would incur another $1 billion in financial penalties for failing to complete it, together with the billions in lost revenue, according to the New York Times.
This came just hours before the two New England states announced a lawsuit of their own, according to the Los Angeles Times.
There are rumours the Trump administration also plans to pull existing permits for a planned wind project in Maryland, although this has not yet been confirmed.
President Trump has made no secret of his dislike of renewable energy, particularly wind power, calling it “the scam of the century” in a social media post.
In April, the Trump administration issued a stop work order for Equinor’s 810MW Empire Wind 1 project off the coast of New York. The project faced a month-long delay before the administration allowed construction to resume.
President Trump also signed an executive order temporarily halting offshore wind lease sales in federal waters and pausing the issuance of approvals, permits, and loans for onshore and offshore wind projects.
