Trump Admin Continues Offshore Wind War with Revolution Wind Farm Permission Remand

---

Written by Eric Funderburk for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

---

Summary

The Trump administration is taking further steps to block U.S. offshore wind developments, with the latest move being a request to a federal court to remand the permission granted for the 704-megawatt Revolution wind farm off the Rhode Island coast.

---

Par for the Course

There are few, if any, U.S. offshore wind projects that the Trump administration hasn't tried to block or hinder in some way or another. The administration's latest move comes in the form of a review for the authorization granted for the up-and-running Revolution offshore wind farm off the Rhode Island coast. Revolution will provide power to that state and Connecticut.

The wind farm is joint venture of Danish wind giant Orsted and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), which reported that the 65th and final turbine was installed at the wind farm in September, putting the facility on track to begin ramping up toward its full 704 megawatts (MW) of nameplate generation capacity. The wind farm began supplying power to the two states in March of this year, prior to full completion.

On Friday, the Department of the Interior asked a federal court for permission to remand the agency's 2023 construction and operations plan (COP) for the project, a key piece of permission that paved the way for the wind farm's development. The department has requested the remand so that it can review the COP. This stems from a lawsuit filed by the Green Oceans group, which says the feds violated regulatory procedures and environmental regulations in granting the permission. The Interior Department now finds itself supporting this claim and wants to review the COP, which potentially could affect the project's operations down the road.

While Orsted and CIP were undoubtedly hoping that the wind farm's completion would put an end to the legal maneuvers to prevent its construction and operation, if that hope existed, it appears to have been in vain. However, its par for the course; Revolution and other offshore wind farms have faced other stop-work orders and lease buyouts from the Trump administration, and the latest move by the Interior Department is only a continuation of previous actions against the wind farm by the White House.

Past Disruptions

One of the initial moves targeting the Revolution Wind Farm came in August 2025, when the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), part of the Interior Department, ordered developers to halt construction when it was around 80% complete. The BOEM didn't cite any specific legal violations or safety threats, but rather loosely defined "national security issues." A judge remanded the stop-work order later that month after Connecticut and Rhode Island filed a lawsuit.

December 22, 2025, was a rough day for the U.S. offshore wind sector, when the administration suspended the leases for five offshore wind farms, including Revolution, citing concerns over radar interference. A January injunction allowed Revolution to proceed. The wind farm produced its first power a couple of months of later, and turbine installation continued.

Now, with all turbines in place and Connecticut and Rhode Island expecting enough power from the facility for around 350,000 homes, the battle lines are drawn again as the one of the foundations allowing the wind farm's construction is being reconsidered.

Other Offshore Wind Disruptions

And Revolution is not the only offshore wind farm that has faced disruptions. The Green Oceans organization also filed a suit against Orsted's South Fork offshore wind farm, which began operating in early 2024.

The December lease suspension also affected four other offshore wind farms:

• Vineyard Wind 1 - This wind farm was nearly complete when the suspension occurred, and a federal judge allowed construction to resume in late January after more than a month of stoppage. It was completed earlier this year off the coast of Massachusetts.
• Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind - The largest wind farm to face the lease suspension, Dominion Energy's 2,600-MW project was allowed to resume in January, and construction remains ongoing off the Virginia coast. Readers can access details of the project, including construction timelines, key contact details, and equipment and service needs, by clicking here.
• Sunrise Wind - Orsted's Sunrise project was less than half finished when the suspension occurred, and construction was allowed to resume in February. The 924-MW wind farm remains under construction off the Long Island coast and is expected to begin providing power next year.
• Empire Wind 1 - This 816-MW project at another point off the Long Island coast was reportedly around 60% complete when the December suspension was issued and also remains under construction. The wind farm faced an earlier stop-work order from the Trump administration in April 2025, which was lifted the following month.

Crossing the construction finish line may not be enough for the three wind farms still being built, as the continued actions against the nearly completed Revolution facility have shown. Other planned offshore wind farms have had their leases bought out, costing the government billions of dollars.



Industrial Info pegs the total investment value of offshore wind farms under construction at more than $14 billion, and the uphill battle they have faced doesn't present an easy road for the more than $30 billion worth of U.S. offshore wind projects in the planning and engineering stage.

---

About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, Industrial Info Resources is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 trillion (USD).