Trump Administration Is Sued by 2 New England States for Stopping Wind Farm Project Meant To Power 350,000 Homes

Two New England states are suing the Trump administration over what they call the president's "assault" on the wind energy industry—after an offshore wind project intended to power 350,000 homes was halted by the government, despite being close to completion.

Rhode Island and Connecticut filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island on Thursday.

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha accused President Donald Trump of waging an "all-out assault" on the wind energy industry, according to The Associated Press.

The project was set to power more than 350,000 homes starting in 2026 but work was halted by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on Aug. 22.

Workers had "already installed 100% of offshore foundations and approximately 70% of wind turbines for the project. Export cable installation is nearly complete, as is 90% of the onshore substation," according to a statement from Revolution Wind, developer of the project.

Revolution Wind has also filed a separate lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington, DC.

Revolution Wind is a joint venture between Ørsted, a Danish energy company, and a consortium led by Skyborn Renewables, a Global Infrastructure Partners platform company.

"While Revolution Wind will continue to seek to work collaboratively with the administration and other stakeholders toward a prompt resolution, it believes that BOEM lacked legal authority for the stop-work order and that the stop-work order’s stated basis violated applicable law," Revolution Wind said in the statement.

"Revolution Wind secured all required federal and state permits in 2023, following reviews that began more than nine years ago. Federal reviews and approvals included the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, National Marine Fisheries Service, and several other agencies."

According to the AP, both small Northeast states have no room for land-based energy projects, and were heavily relying on this offshore project to lessen their reliance on fossil fuels.

However, BOEM said that Revolution Wind needed to "address concerns related to the protection of national security interests of the United States."

This follows U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum saying on CNN that a "bad agent" could "launch a swarm drone attack" through a wind farm, according to AP.

However, retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. Kirk Lippold said that Burgum had an "overactive imagination in search of a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist."

Trump's dislike of renewable energy

Trump has made clear he is no fan of nonfossil fuel energy, halting all offshore wind leasing his first day in office.

He recently berated both wind and solar power on Truth Social.

"Any State that has built and relied on WINDMILLS and SOLAR for power are seeing RECORD BREAKING INCREASES IN ELECTRICITY AND ENERGY COSTS. THE SCAM OF THE CENTURY! We will not approve wind or farmer destroying Solar. The days of stupidity are over in the USA!!! MAGA," he wrote.

The United Nations has stated that fossil fuels are the primary cause of global climate change.

About 26.1% of U.S. homes, with a combined value of $12.7 trillion, are exposed to at least one type of severe or extreme climate risk such as hurricanes, wildfires, or floods, according to the Realtor.com® 2025 Housing and Climate Risk report.   

Rhode Island and Connecticut

Both Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont have criticized the Revolution Wind decision, issuing statements posted on X.

"At a time when we should be moving forward with solutions for energy, jobs and affordability, the Trump Administration is choosing delay and disruption," wrote McKee. "@GovNedLamont and I will pursue every avenue to reverse the decision to halt work on Revolution Wind."

Wrote Lamont, "This political move by the Trump Administration will drive up the cost of electricity bills and contradicts everything the administration had told us. It wastes years of state investment in renewable energy designed to diversity our energy supply and lower costs for families and businesses."

Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal said in a statement, "This arbitrary decision defies all logic and reason."

Nantucket, MA

Revolution Wind isn't the only wind energy venture caught in the crosshairs of the current administration's anti-wind stance.

The Trump administration is also reconsidering the federal permit issued to SouthCoast Wind, an offshore wind farm slated for installation "20 nautical miles southeast of [Nantucket] island," according to Nantucket Current.

There had already been much delay caused by the town of Nantucket challenging the wind farm in federal court, citing "significant harm the project will cause Nantucket, a federally designated National Historic Landmark."

"The town of Nantucket’s position on offshore wind projects does not change with presidential administrations," Florencia Rullo, communications manager for the town of Nantucket, told Realtor.com about the reported reconsideration.

"Our expectations are clear: lawful permitting, respect for our National Historic Landmark status, and strong safeguards against environmental risks. Our decisions to engage or pursue legal action depend solely on whether BOEM or a developer meets the legal standards to avoid, minimize, or mitigate harm."

The proposed project would include 131 turbines and five offshore substation platforms, which could be seen from the shoreline.

"This is not about protecting rich people’s views," Nantucket Select Board Vice Chair Matt Fee said in a March statement opposing the SouthCoast Wind project. "Our entire economy depends on heritage tourism. If people no longer want to come to Nantucket, that has a real impact on our small businesses and the people who operate them."

But local real estate Shelly Lockwood of J. Pepper Frazier Real Estate tells Realtor.com that she's not heard any complaints from potential buyers worried about their multimillion-dollar views.

"People do not like the wind farms for various reasons—some legit, some perhaps not so, almost all environmental—but the presence of the installations has not affected local real estate prices or activity," she says.

The Trump administration's secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has long opposed wind farms, ever since one was proposed within view of the Kennedy Compound on Cape Cod, MA, two decades ago.

"The project will damage the views from 16 historic sites and lighthouses on the Cape and nearby islands," he wrote at the time in The Wall Street Journal. The project, Cape Wind, was eventually scuttled.

"Offshore wind has been a catastrophe," Kennedy told Inside Climate News during the 2024 presidential campaign. "It should be shut down. It makes no sense."