US Interior Department seeks to reverse approval of Revolution Wind project

The United States Department of the Interior has filed a motion in federal court seeking to rescind its prior approval of the Revolution Wind offshore wind project. The $6.2 billion development, located off the coast of Rhode Island, is currently nearing completion and has already begun supplying electricity to the New England grid. The filing marks a significant escalation in the Trump administration’s efforts to halt offshore wind energy development, despite the project being approximately 95 per cent complete and having undergone extensive regulatory reviews.

The Department of the Interior argues that a remand of its three-year-old approval is warranted to allow the agency to reevaluate its compliance with the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. In its recent filing, the department stated that it agrees with the position that its prior approval of the construction and operations plan should be reviewed. The original lawsuit was filed in 2024 by the anti-wind-energy group Green Oceans, which challenged the approvals for both Revolution Wind and its sister project, South Fork Wind. The Department of the Interior’s motion suggests that if the court grants the remand, it will not need to address the other claims brought by the plaintiffs.

Despite the legal challenge, the project continues to operate. The developer, Denmark’s Ørsted, has not yet commented on the filing. The 704-megawatt facility has been delivering power to New England since March and is expected to be fully operational by the end of the year. Upon full operation, the project is set to supply electricity to approximately 350,000 homes and businesses. The Department of the Interior issued a statement clarifying that it is merely complying with a briefing schedule and is not announcing a policy change. The department maintained that its position has remained consistent throughout the administration and that the filing should not be misconstrued as a shift in its approach to offshore wind.

Critics of the move argue that the filing undermines regulatory certainty and could deter future investment in the renewable energy sector. Erik Milito, President of the National Ocean Industries Association, called for a timely decision on the project, emphasising the importance of predictable regulatory processes. He noted that while the federal government has a responsibility to ensure compliance, the remaining process should move forward efficiently while the project progresses toward full operations. Milito also urged Congress to pass comprehensive permitting reform legislation, specifically the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, to prevent the second-guessing of federal approvals that have already undergone lengthy review.

Hillary Bright, executive director of the offshore wind advocacy group Turn Forward, stated that the new filing injects uncertainty into a nearly completed project that electricity planners and consumers in the Northeast are counting on. The legal battle follows a ruling in January by U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth, who found that evidence provided by the federal government regarding the impact of wind turbines on military radar was insufficient to justify halting work on the project. The judge noted that the project had undergone extensive reviews by defence officials and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

The Department of the Interior’s filing criticises the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s 2023 record of decision for failing to adequately explain how the project’s potential impact fits within the agency’s mission to provide for other uses within U.S. waters, including fishing and recreation. The department has previously expressed concerns that wind turbines negatively affect military radar operations. Senator Martin Heinrich, a negotiator on a recent bipartisan agreement to overhaul federal energy permitting rules, responded to the filing by stating that the situation proves the need for permitting certainty in law. He added that the administration needs to show good faith progress on wind permits in the meantime.

The move by the Trump administration highlights a broader strategy to expand the fossil fuel sector and shift focus away from renewable energy. Since coming into office, President Donald Trump has sought to halt the development of several offshore wind projects and has paid companies to relinquish their leases to invest in oil and gas projects instead. If the Department of the Interior succeeds in cancelling a major energy project that is nearly complete, it could make investors think twice before funding other renewable energy projects in the United States, potentially undermining investment confidence in the country’s renewable energy sector.