Rhode Island state representatives Lauren Carson and Terri Cortvriend will host a special Zoom meeting Tuesday, Sept. 2, at 6:30 p.m. to address the federal government’s sudden decision to halt construction of the Revolution Wind project.
The meeting comes after the Trump administration ordered Danish developer Ørsted to stop all construction on the nearly complete offshore wind project, citing the need to “address concerns related to the protection of national security interests of the United States.” The project is about 80% complete, with 45 of its 65 turbines already installed.
The featured speaker will be Professor Timmons Roberts from Brown University, who has previously attended Climate Caucus meetings. Roberts holds the Ittleson Professorship of Environmental Studies and serves as a professor of Environment and Society and Sociology at Brown University. He also serves as executive director of the Climate Social Science Network (CSSN).
The Revolution Wind project was expected to generate power for over 350,000 homes in Rhode Island and Connecticut and was scheduled to be fully operational next year. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued a record of decision in August 2023 allowing the 704-megawatt wind farm to proceed, and construction began in 2023.
The halt order was issued Friday by the acting director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Matthew Giacona, without specifying the nature of the national security concerns. This marks the second time the Trump administration has halted a major offshore wind project, following a similar order on New York’s Empire Wind project in April.
Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont have criticized the stop-work order and said they will pursue every avenue to reverse the decision. What’s Up Newp previously reported that about 1,000 union members have been working on Revolution Wind, and those jobs are now at risk.
The project, located more than 15 miles south of the Rhode Island coast, 32 miles southeast of the Connecticut coast and 12 miles southwest of Martha’s Vineyard, was designed to deliver electricity at 9.8 cents per kilowatt hour for 20 years — cheaper than the average cost of electricity in New England.
Roberts brings extensive experience in climate, energy and wind policy spanning decades. He previously taught and led environmental programs at the College of William & Mary and Tulane University, served as a James Martin 21st Century Professor at Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute, and was a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution from 2012 to 2020.
Interested participants can register here.
For more information, contact Rep. Carson at laurenhcarson@gmail.com or Rep. Cortvriend at rep-cortvriend@rilegislature.gov.
