“Corruption, plain and simple:” Trump orders halt of nearly finished offshore wind farm, citing “security”

The Trump administration, citing supposed but unnamed “national security interests”, have halted construction of the 704-megawatt (MW) Revolution Wind offshore wind farm that is already 80 per cent complete.

The decision has stunned the renewable energy industry, coming as it does amid multi-prong attacks from the Trump Administration, which has filled key leadership positions in the energy and environmental departments with fossil fuel lobbyists who are systematically tearing existing legislation apart.

Construction of the Revolution Wind project, owned by the Danish government controlled Ørsted, began in May, 2024, and according to the owner is 80 per cent complete, with 45 out of the 65 wind turbines now fully installed.

In a letter sent last week to Ørsted by Matthew Giacona, the acting director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and a former fossil fuel lobbyist, the company was told to “halt all ongoing activities related to the Revolution Wind Project on the outer continental shelf”.

According to Giacona, the reason for the construction halt was “to allow time for [the BOEM] to address concerns that have arisen” during the review of all offshore wind projects that Donald Trump ordered earlier this year.

Part of a raft of executive orders Donald Trump signed in the early days of his second presidency, the order initiated a temporary withdrawal of all leases on the outer continental shelf, including future and existing offshore wind leases, and initiated a review of existing leases.

Giacona did not specify what those “concerns” were, saying only that the BOEM was acting to ensure that all activities on the outer continental shelf were carried out “in a manner that provides for protection of the environment” and “In particular, BOEM is seeking to address concerns related to the protection of national security interests”.

What those national security interests could possibly be were not addressed. Trump has vowed that “no new windmills” will be built on his watch and has simultaneously called for increased drilling for oil and gas.

This includes a plan announced last week by the DoI to hold more than 30 offshore oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska’s Cook Inlet over the next 15 years – as well as a potentially catastrophic effort to begin trawling the seabed for critical minerals and resources.

The Trump administration’s decision to halt construction of Revolution Wind follows an effort to block construction of the 810 MW Empire Wind offshore wind farm off the coast of New York. The BOEM initiated a similar stop-work order in mid-April, citing “rushed” approvals “by the prior Administration before backflipping a month later.

Significant pressure was brought to bear on the administration by New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who slammed the decision as “federal overreach” and warning that it will affect hundreds of New Yorkers, “including 1,000 good-paying union jobs.”

Rhode Island’s governor, Dan McKee, slammed the Revolution Wind decision, saying it “undermines efforts to expand our energy supply, lower costs for families and businesses, and strengthen regional reliability,” adding that the halt order “puts hundreds of union jobs at risk”.

Connecticut’s governor, Ned Lamont, similarly lambasted the “political move by the Trump administration”, saying that it would “drive up the cost of electricity bills” and that the move “contradicts everything the administration has told us.”

Senator Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, also issued a statement in which he connected the decision to halt construction of Revolution Wind to Trump’s links to the oil industry.

“When the oil industry showed up at Mar a Lago with a set of demands in exchange for a $1 billion of campaign support for Trump, this is what they were asking for: the destruction of clean energy in America,” said Murphy.

“The decision to stop the Revolution Wind project, which is 80 percent compete and has already been approved through exhaustive reviews by multiple federal agencies, has nothing to do with energy policy or energy prices.

“This is a story of corruption, plain and simple. President Trump has sold our country out to big corporations with the oil and gas industry at the top of the list.”

Ørsted, in its own press release, said that it was “evaluating all options” while “taking appropriate steps to stop offshore activities”.

“Revolution Wind is fully permitted, having secured all required federal and state permits including its Construction and Operations Plan approval letter on 17 November 2023 following reviews that began more than nine years ago,” Ørsted explained.

It said Revolution Wind has already secured 20-year purchase agreements to deliver 400 MW of electricity to Rhode Island and 304 MW to Connecticut – the equivalent energy needed to power over 350,000 homes across both states.

It said the neighbouring South Fork Wind, a 132 MW offshore wind farm that was the country’s first utility-scale offshore wind farm and which is located adjacent to Revolution Wind and uses the same turbine technology, is operating at a capacity factor of 53% for the first half of 2025, “on par with New York’s baseload power sources.”

Ørsted said it will engage with “relevant permitting agencies for any necessary clarification or resolution” to the halt work order but is also considering “potential legal proceedings”.