An offshore wind project targeted by the Trump administration has begun sending power to New England’s electric grid, the developer said Friday.
The Danish company Orsted said Revolution Wind is now generating power and will scale up in the weeks ahead until it is fully operational. Orsted is building Revolution Wind with Global Infrastructure Partners’ Skyborn Renewables to provide electricity for Rhode Island and Connecticut, enough to power more than 350,000 homes and businesses.
Revolution Wind was one of five major East Coast offshore wind projects the Trump administration halted construction on days before Christmas, citing national security concerns. Developers and states sued, and federal judges allowed all five to resume construction, essentially concluding that the government did not show that the national security risk was so imminent that construction must halt.
The Biden administration sought to ramp up offshore wind as a climate change solution.
But President Donald Trump, who often talks about his hatred of wind power, has said his goal is to not let any “windmills” be built. He has signed a spate of executive orders aimed at boosting oil, gas and coal.
White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said Friday night that Trump “reversed course on Joe Biden’s costly green energy agenda that gave preferential treatment to intermittent, unreliable energy sources and instead is aggressively unleashing reliable and affordable energy sources to lower energy bills, improve our grid stability and protect our national security.” Rogers added in a statement to AP that the administration “looks forward to ultimate victory on this issue.”
Orsted said that at a time of growing energy demand, Revolution Wind will provide price certainty and stability, citing a preliminary analysis by the state of Connecticut that estimates it will lower wholesale energy costs by about $500 million per year by 2028.
“Revolution Wind is adding affordable, reliable American-made energy to New England’s grid, helping to meet growing energy demand and lower consumer costs,” Amanda Dasch, chief development officer at Orsted, said in a statement.
Chris Kearns, acting commissioner of the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources, called the first power milestone a “significant moment for the state’s clean energy landscape.”
Orsted began construction in 2024 about 15 miles (24 kilometers) south of the Rhode Island coast. The wind farm has 65 of the 11-megawatt Siemens Gamesa turbines, and more than 1,000 people have been working on it.
Connecticut Rep. Joe Courtney, a Democrat, said that because this wind energy is directly transmitted off the New England coast, “its price will not be at the mercy of uncertain global energy markets.” The Iran war is disrupting world energy supplies, the global economy and international travel.
Courtney also said Friday’s milestone “never would have happened without talented Connecticut building trades workers, who persevered through the Trump administration’s illegal halt work orders.”
The order in December was the second time the administration halted construction on Revolution Wind. Work was previously paused Aug. 22 over national security concerns. A month later a federal judge ruled the project could resume.
___
The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
