The Trump administration on Friday issued an order to stop work on a nearly complete offshore wind energy project, the latest step in the Trump administration’s crackdown on wind power.
In a letter to Orsted, the Danish company developing Revolution Wind, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said its order is tied to concerns about “the protection of national security interests of the United States and prevention of interference with reasonable uses of the exclusive economic zone, the high seas, and the territorial seas.”
The letter did not explain why the project posed national security concerns or interfered with reasonable uses of the area. BOEM did not respond to emailed questions.
The order follows a Thursday announcement from the US Commerce Department that it had initiated an investigation on August 13 into “the effects on the national security of imports of wind turbines and their parts and components,” which could allow Trump to apply increased tariffs to wind turbines.
In a company announcement on Friday, Orsted said that Revolution Wind is already 80 percent complete. It is located in federal waters about 15 miles south of Port Judith, Rhode Island, halfway between Block Island, Rhode Island, and Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.
“Orsted is evaluating all options to resolve the matter expeditiously,” the company said, including “engagement with relevant permitting agencies for any necessary clarification or resolution as well as through potential legal proceedings.”
According to the announcement, Revolution Wind is expected to deliver 400 megawatts of electricity to Rhode Island and 304 megawatts to Connecticut—enough to power more than 350,000 homes across the two states.
A spokesperson for Orsted declined an interview request for this story.
Environmental groups and elected officials have criticized the stop-work order and cast doubt on the legitimacy of the administration’s national security concerns.
Pasha Feinberg, an offshore wind specialist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said any potential concerns would have arisen far earlier in the development process.