October 14, 2026
Turbine installation for Revolution Wind is shown. The Trump administration had ordered construction stopped. A court ordered work resumed while the full case plays out in court. (Photo courtesy of Ørsted)
This article first appeared on CT Mirror and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The Trump administration is once again seeking to interrupt the development of Connecticut’s first offshore wind project, Revolution Wind.
In a federal court filing on Friday, attorneys representing the U.S. Department of the Interior sought permission to rescind the agency’s three-year-old approval for the construction of the Revolution Wind project, which is now nearing completion.
The filing was made in a lawsuit filed in 2024 by Green Oceans, an anti-wind energy group, challenging the federal government’s approval of permits for Revolution Wind and its sister project, South Fork Wind.
“The Department of the Interior agrees that remand of its prior approval of the construction and operations plan (“COP”) for the Revolution Wind Project is warranted so that the agency can reevaluate its compliance with the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act,” the filing states. “Given that remand, the Court need not reach Plaintiffs’ other claims challenging Interior’s COP approval.”
A spokesperson for the project’s developer, Ørsted, declined to comment on the filing Monday.
The Department of Interior issued a statement Tuesday evening in response to a request for comment.
“The Department of the Interior is complying with a briefing schedule, not announcing a policy change. Our position has remained consistent throughout this administration and this filing should not be misconstrued as a shift in the Department’s approach to offshore wind,” the statement said.
Revolution Wind’s 65th and final turbine was installed in September, and developers say the project is on track to begin producing its full, 704-megawatt output by the end of this year.
The project is located off the coast of Rhode Island, with onshore assembly taking place at the State Pier in New London. The project began supplying power to the New England electric grid in March, and is supported by contracts with utilities in Connecticut and Rhode Island. (South Fork Wind, which was not mentioned in the filing, was completed in 2024).
The move also comes as Congress is mulling bipartisan legislation to speed up permitting for energy infrastructure projects, including offshore wind farms. A vote on that bill is not expected until after the midterm elections.
National Ocean Industries Association President Erik Milito released a statement on Monday calling for Congress to vote on that legislation in response to the Trump administration’s latest efforts to interfere with Revolution Wind. The NOIA represents companies involved in offshore energy development for the wind, oil and gas industries.
“Predictable regulatory processes and timely decisions are important for offshore energy development of all kinds,” Milito said. “We recognize the federal government’s responsibility to review projects and ensure compliance with applicable requirements, and we hope the remaining process can move forward efficiently while Revolution Wind continues progressing toward full operations. The second-guessing of federal approvals that have already gone through a lengthy review process is precisely why Congress must pass comprehensive permitting reform legislation, specifically the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act.”
Friday’s filing did not cite any specific concerns that prompted officials to reverse their stance on the Revolution Wind project. However, the filing criticized the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s original 2023 record of decision for failing to “adequately explain” how potential impacts fit within the agency’s mission to provide for other uses within U.S. waters, including fishing and recreation.
Previously, the Department of Interior has cited concerns about the impact turbine blades can have on military radar in its efforts to halt offshore wind development.
Those arguments, however, have failed to gain much traction within the courts. The judge overseeing the Green Oceans case, Royce C. Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, has twice sided with the developers of Revolution Wind in blocking the Trump administration’s efforts to halt work on the project.
Lamberth has yet to rule on Interior’s latest request to reconsider the project’s construction permit.
The Trump administration has had greater success stopping wind projects that have yet to begin construction. On the first day of his second term, Trump issued an executive order withdrawing all areas of the outer continental shelf from further leasing to wind developers, while also pausing permiting on any new projects.
Since then, several wind developers have reached agreements to relinquish their leases for areas of the U.S. coast, in exchange for billions in refunds and promises to develop oil and gas projects instead. Those agreements have prompted lawsuits from several state attorneys general, including Connecticut’s William Tong.
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Courtesy of Rhode Island Current
