The federal action piles on pressure by the Trump Administration to reverse renewable energy initiatives promoted by the previous Biden administration under the Inflation Reduction Act. Indeed, offshore construction was well underway, following final federal approval from the BOEM last year. The project is considered to be 80% complete, with all foundations installed and 45 out of 65 wind turbines in place. Revolution Wind is an Ørsted subsidiary in a 50/50 joint venture with Global Infrastructure Partners’ Skyborn Renewables.

According to its press release, Ørsted is in contact with relevant permitting agencies for ‘necessary clarification’ as well as considering potential legal proceedings, with the hope of continuing construction in 2H2026.

Federal and state permits had been fully permitted, including a construction and operations plan approval letter dated 17 November 2023, following reviews that began over nine years ago. Under the plans, Revolution Wind had secured 20-year power purchase agreements to deliver 400 MW of electricity to Rhode Island and 304 MW to Connecticut – enough to power over 350,000 homes across both states.

By comparison, South Fork Wind, a wind farm which is adjacent to Revolution Wind, completed in 2024, used the same offshore wind technology to deliver renewable energy to New York at a capacity factor of 53% for 1H2025, on a par with the state’s baseload power sources.

President Trump has a highly adversarial opinion of wind power both on and offshore. Recently, while playing a round at Turnberry golf club located near the Kirkhill windfarm in Scotland, according to The Guardian, he claimed: ‘It is the worst form of energy, the most expensive form of energy… windmills should not be allowed’.

It’s not the first offshore wind stop order  

Earlier this year, a halt work order was issued by the US government to the Empire Wind offshore construction project, owned by Norwegian energy major Equinor. On 16 April 2025, Empire received a BOEM notice ordering it to halt all activities on the outer continental shelf until it had completed its review.  

Here again, Empire had previously secured all federal and state permits. The 810 MW capacity project was being constructed under contract to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to provide electricity for the state of New York, with potential to power 500,000 New York homes.

Equinor steps in to support Ørsted

In the latest news, Equinor stepped in this week to invest another $939mn into Danish wind developer Ørsted, to maintain the 10% stake it acquired for $2.3bn less than a year ago. The Norwegian developer – the biggest operator of wind farms in UK waters – is strongly committed to developing its offshore wind business, with backing for Ørsted’s $9.4bn rights issue.

According to The Times, Ørsted said last month that the ‘unprecedented actions’ of the US government had left it unable to sell a stake in its Empire wind farm off New York or to raise financing for it, forcing it into a rights issue to cover the funding shortfall.

In response to the rights issue, Equinor has announced a vote of confidence in Ørsted and pledged to collaborate more closely with the Danish company to face these challenges.