States, Orsted File Challenges to Trump Wind Farm Stoppage

Rhode Island, Connecticut and wind farm developer Orsted A/S are suing the Trump administration in an effort to revive construction of an almost-finished offshore project meant to provide power to the two New England states.

The developer sued Thursday in federal court in Washington, hours before the two New England states announced a lawsuit of their own. The cases kick off a major legal battle over a flurry of recent orders reflecting President Donald Trump’s longstanding antipathy to wind power. The orders threaten billions of dollars of investments, hundreds of jobs and new power supplies.

At a press conference announcing the lawsuit, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong blasted what he described as Trump’s “all-out war” on wind power.

“This is an utterly unlawful and baseless — and frankly senseless and stupid stop-work order,” Tong said.

Revolution Wind LLC, co-owned by Orsted and Global Infrastructure Partners, filed suit Thursday morning in federal court in Washington, with Connecticut and Rhode Island following hours later. Orsted seeks an emergency order forcing the Trump administration to let it finish a project off the coast of Rhode Island that’s already 80% complete.

The project, intended to provide energy for hundreds of thousands of homes in Rhode Island and Connecticut, was approved after an extensive environmental and national defense review that spanned multiple agencies and three presidential administrations, according to the suit. Revolution Wind said it has already spent or committed about $5 billion on the project and will lose more than $1 billion in breakaway costs if it’s canceled.

“Revolution Wind spent these sums and incurred these financial obligations in reasonable reliance on defendants’ approval and authorization of the project and with the expectation of due process under the law,” according to the suit.

Since taking office in January, Trump has issued a flurry of orders designed to stymie the fledgling US offshore wind business. The president has long despised the industry, claiming that massive wind turbines kill birds, cause cancer and drive whales “crazy.”

Trump signed an executive order in January pausing permitting for wind projects, which led to work being halted on a wind farm offshore of New York. The project was later resurrected following negotiations between Trump and New York Governor Kathy Hochul.

Orsted seeks an emergency ruling vacating the administration’s Aug. 22 stop work order on the project, arguing the cancelation violates constitutional due process rights. “The project has spent billions of dollars in reliance on these valid approvals,” the company said in the complaint.

The suit also addressed concerns about whales, among other things, saying “the overwhelming scientific consensus is that offshore wind activity is not a cause of marine mammal mortalities” and that such deaths “are primarily caused by vessel strikes and fishing gear entanglements.”

Revolution Wind said in a statement that it will continue to work with the administration to try to find a resolution of the dispute, but that litigation was a necessary step.

The White House didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

Trump’s attacks on the wind industry include halting new leases and permits, withdrawing millions of acres of ocean for development, and rolling back tax credits. The US Commerce Department in August launched a probe into imported wind turbines and parts that could lead to more tariffs.

The government’s decision to block the Revolution project off the coast of Rhode Island was delivered with an order on Aug. 22 that cited national security concerns. The decision was issued just hours after Danish foreign minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen signed a climate agreement with California Governor Gavin Newsom, prompting speculation in Denmark, where Orsted is based, that Trump made his move in retaliation.

The Revolution Wind farm is already 80% complete, according to Orsted. Earlier this year, Trump issued a similar stop work order against another project being built by Norway’s Equinor ASA, which was lifted after a few weeks.

The clash comes at a critical time for Orsted. The company will hold a shareholder meeting Friday to approve a 60 billion Danish krone-capital raise to shore up the company’s finances. That effort became necessary in large part because Trump’s actions against offshore wind made it impossible for the company to sell a stake in another wind farm its building off the coast of New York known as Sunrise Wind.

The company’s shares are down more than 40% this year, wiping nearly $8 billion off the company’s market value. The move also threw a wrench into Orsted’s planned 60 billion-kroner share sale.

The Orsted suit names Trump administration officials including Interior Secretary Douglas Burgum and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Acting Director Matthew Giacona.

Photo: Wind turbine foundation components at the Revolution Wind construction hub at the Port of Providence in Providence, Rhode Island, US, on Thursday, June 13, 2024. The 704-megawatt Revolution Wind project will be the first commercial-scale offshore wind project for Rhode Island and Connecticut and the first multi-state offshore wind farm in the country.