US energy secretary Chris Wright has stated that the Trump administration is discussing the future of Ørsted’s Revolution Wind offshore wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island.
The Trump administration was 80% complete when a stop-work order was issued by the Department of the Interior.
The order suspended the project after all offshore foundations were in place and 45 out of 65 wind turbines were installed. Export cable installation is nearly complete, as is 90% of the onshore substation. The project was scheduled to be finished next year.
“That’s a very active dialogue in the administration. Offshore wind has moved fast. It’s got a lot of problems, both environmental and economic — and they are being very actively worked and discussed,” Wright told reporters at an event held by the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington.
Danish company Ørsted and its joint venture partner Skyborn Renewables have filed a lawsuit in the DC District Court to reverse the stop-work order for the project. The attorneys general of Rhode Island and Connecticut, the two states that were supposed to benefit from the project, are also suing the federal government.
They believe that BOEM lacked legal authority for the stop-work order and that the stop-work order’s stated basis violated applicable law.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration lifted a similar stop-work order for Equinor’s $5bn Empire Wind project off the coast of Long Island.
