Report: Offshore wind critics played role in Revolution Wind work stoppage

By Tom Joyce
The Center Square

Offshore wind opponents in the fishing industry helped shape the Trump administration’s decision to halt work on the Revolution Wind project, a $4 billion development off the coasts of Rhode Island and Connecticut, a new report says.

Annie Hawkins is a former fishing industry attorney and executive director at the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA), which opposes offshore wind farms. She is now the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s top lawyer. As NOAA’s attorney, Hawkins was included on Interior Department emails planning the work stoppage, Politico E&E News reported after receiving the emails through public information requests.

Seafreeze Shoreside, a Rhode Island based seafood company that is now owned by Spanish multinational company Profand Fishing Holding, is a member of RODA and is a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the Trump administration after the administration allowed another offshore wind project to proceed.

Emails also show Green Oceans, a Rhode Island group opposed to offshore wind, sent Interior a 68-page report called Cancelling Offshore Wind Leases ahead of the administration’s recent stop-work order for Revolution Wind, Politico reported.

The NOAA did not immediately respond to The Center Square’s request for comment, and declined to comment to Politico.

The stoppage has drawn sharp criticism from political leaders, unions and grid operators.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said on CNBC that Revolution Wind is nearly complete.

“Revolution Wind is in the 8th inning, and it’s going to generate 700 MW of power for our region, it’s going to bring down costs for people, it’s almost done… Not everyone in Washington knew about this. It was a sudden decision coming out of the White House,” Lamont said.

He warned of negative grid impacts if the administration canceled the project.

“…First thing that happens is much more likely we have blackouts in coming years because energy use is going up and this is a way we can generate a lot more electricity now… So, it will jack up prices and make our power a lot less reliable. It’s a terrible negative,” Lamont said.

The International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Ironworkers also blasted the decision.

“This order puts hardworking American Workers out of a job and stalls a project our members have nearly brought over the finish line,” the union’s General President Eric Dean said. “Halting this job now doesn’t make America safer; it puts families at risk, kneecaps a nearly complete piece of critical infrastructure, and jeopardizes thousands of working-class union jobs. Let us finish the work we started.”

ISO New England, which manages the region’s electric grid, also raised concerns.

“Through the region’s wholesale markets, Revolution Wind has committed to helping meet New England’s demand for electricity, beginning in 2026,” ISO said, Reuters reported. “Delaying the project will increase risks to reliability.”

Dan Dolan, president of the New England Power Generators Association, expressed a similar sentiment, according to RTO Insider.

“When projects like Revolution Wind have met every legal requirement, secured financing, and obtained a Capacity Supply Obligation to support reliability, they should not face the rules being changed midstream,” he said. “Actions like this erode investor confidence and jeopardize long-term electric reliability in the region.”

The AFL-CIO called the stop-work order “an outrage,” saying it “effectively [kicks] hundreds of union members out of jobs their families and communities were relying on.”

Revolution Wind is 80% complete, according to the Iron Workers Union.