by Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current
January 4, 2026
The year is new, but the argument is the same: The Trump administration has no constitutional authority to halt work on a major offshore wind project nearing completion south of Rhode Island’s coastline.
Hundreds of pages of legal filings submitted in federal court on Jan. 1 and 2 by the Revolution Wind developers reprise many of the same arguments already invoked in its August lawsuit against federal regulators.
The 65-turbine project was already 80% complete when the Trump administration unexpectedly ordered work to stop on Aug. 22, citing national security issues. A month of anguish ensued, with local officials, labor leaders and environmental advocates, along with the companies behind the $5 billion project, decrying the unconstitutional overstep by federal regulators. A federal judge in D.C. stepped in, forcing the Trump administration to back off in a Sept. 22 order. Unlike other litigation between states and companies and the federal government, the order was never appealed.
The rocky seas seemed to calm. Laborers resumed work, and the developers said they were still on schedule to begin providing power to Rhode Island and Connecticut by mid-2026. Offshore installation was scheduled to be completed in mid-February, according to an affidavit from Paul Murphy, senior engineering procurement and construction director for the project.
Then, three days before Christmas, a new edict from the Trump administration ordered work to stop again on Revolution Wind and four other offshore wind projects along the Atlantic coast. The second, 90-day pause again rested on national security concerns, despite the rigorous review already dubbed complete by the same federal energy agencies years before.
Orsted A/S, the Danish renewable energy giant co-developing Revolution Wind, initially offered a veiled response to the second stop work order. But the hundreds of pages filed in D.C. federal court in the first two days of the year reveal a more forceful fight.
“The Second Stop Work Order is arbitrary and capricious: It is wholly conclusory, internally inconsistent, and overbroad,” states one of the new legal filings, submitted on Jan. 1. “The Second Stop Work Order ignores that the [Department of] Interior has stated plainly that the Project does not interfere with national security. It also ignores Revolution Wind’s obvious and substantial actions and billions of dollars of investment made in reliance.”
Since work resumed in mid-September, developers have finished installing the foundations that anchor the turbines to the sea floor, along with 58 of the 65 turbines, and “substantial completion” of the underwater cables that will connect the wind-powered electricity to the regional grid, according to court filings. Developers now estimate the project is 87% completed — up from 80% in mid-August.
With every day the pause continues, the losses pile up. The companies estimate they are losing $1.44 million a day on already inked contracts with specialty vessels meant to carry heavy equipment and workers out to sea. If the pause is not lifted by Jan. 12, there is a “very high risk” the vessels will no longer be available and the remaining turbines will not be installed by the mandated Jan. 15, 2027 deadline to supply power to Rhode Island, the court filings state.
The development companies are seeking a second preliminary injunction to stop the Trump administration from suspending work on the project, and have also asked to speed up the deliberations.
Royce C. Lamberth, senior judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, agreed to the second request. His Jan. 2 order gives the Department of Justice attorneys representing the federal administration until Thursday, Jan. 8, to submit a response. An in-person hearing in Lamberth’s D.C. courtroom is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 12, according to the court docket. U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo speaks at a press conference at the CIC Providence building on Friday, Jan. 2, with officials opposing the Trump administration’s latest stop work order on Revolution Wind and other offshore wind projects. (Photo courtesy of office of U.S. Rep Gab Amo)
<h4>What’s at stake in R.I.</h4>Beyond the $6 billion loss projected by project developers if the project is canceled or left incomplete are the consequences for Rhode Island and Connecticut. On Friday, state and congressional leaders, labor organizers and environmental advocates organized a press conference and rally in downtown Providence to demonstrate their support for the project.
“Rhode Island has built national leadership in offshore wind by doing the hard work and delivering real results,” Gov. Dan McKee said in a statement following the event. “These projects are essential to keeping energy affordable, creating long-term jobs, strengthening our economy, and meeting our climate goals. We remain committed to an energy future that works for Rhode Island’s workers, families, and businesses.”
More than 2,000 workers, many of them union laborers, have staked their careers on the burgeoning offshore wind industry, aided by specialty training programs including at the Community College of Rhode Island. Since the second stop work order was issued, 200 workers were put on standby for off- and onshore work, according to an affidavit from Melanie Gearon, head of permitting for the project.
“Just days before the holidays, this administration chose to put thousands of skilled construction workers in limbo – again,” said Michael F. Sabitoni, general secretary-treasurer of the local chapter of the Laborers’ International Union of North America and president of the Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council. “These are men and women who were counting on this work to support their families and keep food on the table. Offshore wind means union jobs, strong wages, and real economic security. Pulling the plug at the end of the year is reckless and deeply unfair to working families.”
Just days before the holidays, this administration chose to put thousands of skilled construction workers in limbo – again.
– Michael F. Sabitoni, general secretary-treasurer of the local chapter of the Laborers’ International Union of North America and president of the Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council.
The Ocean State’s ambitious decarbonization mandate, reaching net-zero by 2050, also hinges upon the project’s completion and power for up to 350,000 homes across Rhode Island and Connecticut. Even states without direct contracts to buy power from the project stand to benefit from a regional electric grid better shielded from the seasonal fluctuations in natural gas prices and availability.
“Stopping these projects ignores both climate science and public support for these projects, and it delays the clean energy transition our communities are counting on,” said Jeff Migneault, executive director of Climate Action Rhode Island.
The press conference and rally also featured remarks from U.S. Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, and U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo.
The states’ stakes in the project were the focus of a second federal lawsuit filed by Rhode Island and Connecticut attorneys general in August. The AGs case was originally filed in Rhode Island federal court, but transferred to D.C. in December, less than two weeks before the second stop work order. No new submissions have been filed in the AGs court case since the latest move by the Trump administration to halt the project, though Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said previously that his office was reviewing the suspension order.
A second Orsted project, Sunrise Wind, under construction off the coast of Long Island, New York, was also subject to the December stop work order. Orsted said in a statement on Jan. 1 that it is still evaluating options for this project, including possible legal proceedings.
Also affected: Vineyard Wind 1, south of Martha’s Vineyard, Empire Wind 1 off New York’s coastline and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind. Developers for Empire Wind and the Virginia project have also filed separate federal lawsuits against the Trump administration for their projects.
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