Revolution Wind Is Built, Not Yet Safe

Revolution Wind has 65 turbines spinning off the New England coast. In a Washington courtroom sits a request that would send the permit they were built under back to the agency that issued it.

Both facts are true at once, and that is the story. Ørsted's interim report says the company finished installing the remaining turbines at the 704 MW project and that it reached commercial operations in October under its contracts with utilities in Connecticut and Rhode Island. The developer says the farm can now supply 350,000 homes in the two states, according to Bloomberg reporting carried by Energyconnects. Yet a federal request to rescind the project's original approval is still pending. Whether a finished US offshore wind farm is safe from this administration, or merely harder to stop, is what that request will settle.

Two orders, two injunctions

The administration first ordered work stopped in August 2025, citing national security concerns, gCaptain reports. The project was already 80 percent complete, according to The Maritime Executive. A court injunction let construction resume in late September. The Interior Department issued a second stop-work order at the end of the year.

That second pause nearly killed the project. Before the January ruling, Revolution Wind told the court in filings that it faced serious risk of cancellation, The New Bedford Light reports. Seven turbines remained to install, and its turbine installation vessel contract was about to expire. The project's attorneys estimated losses of more than $30 million since December 22, 2025, about $1.44 million for each day of the pause.

Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia sided with the developers in both rounds, CT Mirror reports. On January 12 he said the government had given a reason for the December suspension but had not explained it, and suggested the stated reason might be pretextual. A second preliminary injunction let construction resume in mid-January, The Maritime Executive reports. By the time Ørsted challenged the second suspension, gCaptain says, the project was about 87% complete.

The president's own words framed the fight. On January 9, Trump told oil executives: "My goal is to not let any windmill be built."

The permit that remains

The new threat is quieter. In October, Interior asked Judge Lamberth for permission to remand and rescind the 2023 approval of Revolution Wind's construction and operations plan, POWER Magazine reports. That request is still pending.

The filing came in a lawsuit brought in 2024 by Green Oceans, an anti-wind group. Interior said remand was warranted so the agency could "reevaluate its compliance with the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act." CT Mirror reports that the filing cited no specific concern that prompted officials to reverse their stance. It did fault the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's 2023 record of decision for failing to "adequately explain" how potential impacts fit its mission.

Interior has played it down. "The Department of the Interior is complying with a briefing schedule, not announcing a policy change." the department told CT Mirror. Canary Media reports the request did not immediately affect project activity, but experts said it adds uncertainty around a now fully operational installation.

Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Martin Heinrich read it as a warning. "Frankly, we need to get permitting certainty in law, and this proves it." they said in a joint statement.

The national security argument has not fared well in court. POWER Magazine reports that federal judges in multiple cases have dismissed the administration's claims that offshore wind could interfere with military radar. The New Bedford Light reports that Revolution Wind holds a late-2024 agreement with the Defense Department and Air Force. It funds radar upgrades and commits the project to halt turbine operations immediately if NORAD asks. Even so, Interior's Jacob Tyner said in a court filing that BOEM knew of no measures that would mitigate the national security risks once the project was operating.

What a cancellation would cost

The money behind the project explains why states are watching. Revolution Wind has 20-year power agreements, The Maritime Executive reports. Canary Media says the output goes to three utilities: Rhode Island Energy, Eversource Energy and United Illuminating. WorkBoat reports that Rhode Island contracted for 400 megawatts and 304 MW is dedicated to Connecticut.

A Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection analysis estimated the project would save New England ratepayers half a billion dollars a year in electricity market costs by 2028, Sierra Magazine reports. Citing CT Insider, it adds that canceling the project could add $125 million in costs for Connecticut ratepayers. State officials expect its power to meet about 5 percent of Connecticut's electricity demand.

Eversource spokesman William Hinkle called the start of operations "an important milestone" that supplies new generation "at a time when demand is rising." Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee called it a major win for the state's workforce.

The pattern around it

The administration's record is better against projects that have not started building. WorkBoat reports it has had more success blocking those, in several cases buying out developers so they abandon their plans. CT Mirror reports that several developers have agreed to relinquish leases in exchange for billions in refunds and promises to develop oil and gas projects. Several state attorneys general, including Connecticut's William Tong, have sued over those deals.

The damage shows up in forecasts. Before Trump's second administration began, BloombergNEF projected the US would build 39 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2035. It now expects just 5.9 GW, Canary Media reports. Canary also notes that judges struck down the December stop-work orders on all five under-construction projects one by one, but not before developers had lost large sums and nearly missed key deadlines.

Ørsted's finances carry the same mark. Its interim report shows Q3 impairments of 3,442 DKKm against 1,757 DKKm a year earlier, and a Q3 loss of 728 DKKm, mainly from interest rate increases on its US projects. Over nine months, EBITDA excluding new partnerships and cancellation fees grew 19 % to DKK 20.2 billion, from DKK 17.0 billion. Investors have noticed the politics. Bloomberg reports that Ørsted shares jumped Wednesday after Democratic midterm victories revived hopes for pro-renewables policy. The stock is up about 16% this year, after five straight annual double-digit declines that included a 32% slump in 2025.

Ørsted's CEO, Rasmus Errboe, called the start of operations "a major milestone" on the November 5 investor call. He also said Sunrise Wind is nearly 60 percent complete, with first power expected in the second half of 2027. Revolution Wind is the template for that project. A forecast that shows its fate was decided in court rather than on the water is a poor one for the next developer to finance.

For now, 65 turbines keep turning while Interior's briefing schedule runs.