Posted on September 1, 2025
The Trump administration has withdrawn $11.25 million in federal funds previously awarded to the Port of Davisville at Quonset Point in North Kingstown and terminated $33.8 million for the Salem Wind Port Project in Massachusetts.
U.S. Transportation Sec. Sean Duffy late Friday afternoon announced the DOT would quash $679 million in funding for “12 doomed offshore wind projects across America… that were not aligned with the goals and priorities of the administration.”
“This action will ensure federal dollars are prioritized towards restoring America’s maritime dominance and preventing waste,” Duffy said in a release. He said the projects were identified as part of an agency review of discretionary funding that supports “wasteful wind.”
The quasi-public Quonset Development Corp. in November 2024 won a $11.25 million federal grant to improve multimodal access and heavy cargo capacity, including support for offshore wind staging, at the state-owned Davisville port. The Port Infrastructure Development Program grant came from MARAD, the Maritime Administration of the Dept. of Transportation.
The project would relocate a port access roadway and entrance gate, relocate and improve port operations buildings, construct new and upland cargo laydown areas to allow for large cargoes such as wind components, and install lighting, cameras, fencing, gates, and other security assets.
QDC managing director Steven King on Friday evening said he plans to work with the administration to find common ground.
“The Quonset Development Corporation is disappointed by this decision but understands that this administration is working to fund projects in line with its current policy priorities,” King said. “Given that the Quonset Business Park’s 250 companies work broadly across nearly every sector of the economy, including in shipbuilding, we believe there is common ground to pursue and look forward to working together on new grant projects that align with the administration’s objectives and grow the economy.”
Duffy said MARAD grants under Trump are focused on “rebuilding America’s shipbuilding capacity” and “unleashing more reliable, traditional forms of energy” instead of supporting “fantasy wind projects.”
The program funding came from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed under the Biden administration. Duffy said where possible, funding from the withdrawn or terminated projects will be re-competed.
Friday’s news comes one week after the administration suddenly imposed a stop work order at Revolution Wind, Ørsted’s 704-megawatt offshore wind farm under construction off the Southern New England coast.
