704-MW Offshore Wind Project Back On Track As Judge Slams Trump Admin – CleanTechnica

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They say the best and only way to stop a would-be dictator from amassing power is to fight back, and so props to the Danish offshore wind developer Ørsted for suing to resume work on its 704-megawatt Revolution Wind project off the coast of Rhode Island. The successful lawsuit puts hundreds of working households back on the job while also answering the Energy Department’s desperate plea for more power generating capacity, and it signals a reprieve for the 2.6 gigawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, too. So, what’s not to like?

The US Department Of Energy Wants More Offshore Wind, Not

What’s not to like is the US Department of Energy. On August 18 the agency announced the launch of the new “Speed to Power” initiative, aimed at stimulating private sector investment in new power generating capacity on the nation’s grid. In accord with White House policy, though, Speed to Power stipulates that project proposals must involve “reliable” resources, which is Trumpspeak for coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear, hydropower, geothermal, and biomass. In other words, everything but wind and solar power.

To underscore the exclusion of both wind and solar resources, over the summer, the Energy Department affirmed that marine energy also fits into the “reliable” slot, even though the fledgling industry — waves, tides, and currents — is years away from the mass market for generating capacity. A lone, 100-kilowatt wave energy demonstration project at the Port of Los Angeles is the only sign of activity so far.

That’s not a typo. Though scalable to the megawatt level, the capacity of the wave energy project is currently 100 kilowatts. Meanwhile, the domestic offshore wind industry deploys mature, proven technology along with a well-developed supply chain covering 40 states and thousands of working households, with commercial-scale projects underway and more to come. During the four-year tenure of President Joe Biden alone, 11 new offshore wind farms passed through the approval process and entered the project pipeline, totaling 19 gigawatts in capacity.

There Goes 19 Gigawatts And Counting, Down The Drain

If Energy Secretary Chris Wright was really serious about adding more gigawatts to the nation’s power generation profile, he could try to prevail upon US President Donald Trump to walk back his war on the offshore wind industry, but that’s a non-starter. Upon taking office in January, Trump stopped the Interior Department from issuing new offshore wind leases. He also deployed the Environmental Protection Administration, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Transportation to claw back offshore wind projects that were already approved, including seaport upgrades.

That’s where Revolution Wind comes in. As of August 22, the project was 80% complete, with all of the offshore foundations in place and most of the turbines installed. Then Interior Secretary Doug Burgum abruptly issued a stop-work order citing unspecified national security concerns.

If you’re wondering why those security concerns were not addressed during the years-long approval process for Revolution Wind, that’s a good question. Unless something brand new has suddenly popped up over the horizon, those concerns were addressed. Of course they were! On September 4, the Ørsted subsidiary Revolution Wind, (a 50/50 joint venture with the Skyborn Renewables branch of Global Infrastructure Partners) sued Secretary Burgum and other officials in federal court, asserting that “an extensive environmental, national defense, and safety review covering every conceivable aspect of the Project’s development and construction” had already taken place over the course of three different presidential administrations, culminating in 2023 with the “consensus decision of 15 federal and state agencies that the Project is both safe and consistent with federal and state law.”

The US Offshore Wind Industry Wins, For Now

Revolution Wind’s argument was more enough to convince federal judge Royce C. Lamberth (a Reagan appointee, for the record) to rule in favor of resuming the offshore wind project.

“Lamberth, a senior judge appointed by Republican President Ronald Reagan, said the Trump administration had offered contradictory reasons for issuing its stop work order, and that the explanations offered weeks after the halt were ‘the height of arbitrary and capricious’ government conduct,” Reuters reported on September 22.

On its part, the Interior Department accepted the ruling — for now — with egg on its face. “As a result of the Court’s decision today, Revolution Wind will be able to resume construction as BOEM (the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management) continues its investigation into possible impacts by the project to national security and prevention of other uses on the Outer Continental Shelf,” said an Interior Department spokesperson in widely reported remarks.

The governors of Rhode Island and Connecticut hailed the judge’s ruling, though politely.

“I will continue to engage with the federal government and pursue every avenue to protect this important economic engine and lower long-term energy costs for the people of Rhode Island,” stated Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee.

“Today’s ruling allowing Revolution Wind to resume work is extremely encouraging for workers and our energy future. We will continue to engage with the federal government on a durable path forward for this project and on shared energy priorities,” echoed Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont.

What Now, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project?

For the most part, Trump’s war on working households in the offshore wind industry has targeted projects under the purview of coastal states with Democratic governors. In addition to Rhode Island and Connecticut, projects in New Jersey, New York, Maryland, and Massachusetts have been put at risk — or killed off entirely, in the case of New Jersey’s Atlantic Shores project.

The outlier is the Republican governor of Virginia, Glenn Youngkin, whose support for the 2.6-gigawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project appears to have acted as a protective shield against interference. That could change after Election Day in November, though. Youngkin is term-limited, and if the Democratic candidate carries the day as expected, then the CVOW project will fall neatly into the target area of Trump’s war on the offshore wind industry.

Or not, as the case may be. Word on the street is that the domestic offshore wind industry is breathing a sigh of relief now that the Lamberth ruling has forged a pathway for fully approved projects to proceed without further impediments. If all goes according to plan, that will includes CVOW, which has passed the halfway mark towards a completion goal of 2026.