Connecticut Officials Hail Judicial Ruling Lifting Stop-Work Order On Revolution Wind Power Project

HARTFORD, CT – Connecticut officials are lauding a preliminary injunction blocking the stop-work order that had halted construction of Revolution Wind, a mostly completed wind energy facility being built off the coast of Rhode Island by the wind farm company Ørsted, which also welcomed the ruling in a statement reported below. The facility is expected to generate enough power for 350,000 New England homes.

Attorney General William Tong said the US District Court for the District of Columbia had granted the injunction, allowing work on the project to resume immediately. The preliminary injunction was granted in the ruling on the case filed by Ørsted. A parallel challenge filed by Connecticut and Rhode Island is pending in US District Court for the District of Rhode Island, where the states have also sought a preliminary injunction.

“This is a major win for Connecticut workers and for Connecticut families who need this project on track now so it can start to drive down our unaffordable energy bills,” Tong said in a statement. “The court today unequivocally affirmed what we all have seen since this baseless stop-work order was first issued. The Trump administration’s erratic action was the height of arbitrary and capricious, and failed to satisfy any statutory provisions needed to halt work on a fully approved and nearly complete project. It was not a close call.”

Tong said the administration should “see the writing on the wall” and drop its defense of the stop-work order.

“Every day that this project is stymied is a day of lost employment, another day of unaffordable energy costs, and another day burning fossil fuels when American-made clean energy is within reach,” he said.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, in a statement of his own, agreed and said wind power should be part of a mix of generating technologies.

“I have always said that Connecticut is committed to ensuring that our electric grid is reliable, resilient and that our energy costs become more affordable,” he said. “Offshore wind and other renewables are central to that effort, but it must be complemented by a diverse mix of resources, including nuclear power, natural gas, hydropower, and other technologies.”

He called the ruling “extremely encouraging” for workers and the state’s energy future.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-CT, said the Trump administration offered “no credible facts” to support a continued stop-work order.

“None of the government’s trumped-up arguments have factual or legal weight,” Blumenthal said. “While I am pleased with today’s ruling, construction should be permanently permitted to go forward, and workers should be allowed back to the site.”

Beginning in 2026, Revolution Wind is projected to save Connecticut and Rhode Island ratepayers hundreds of millions of dollars over 20 years, according to Tong’s office. The Revolution Wind project supports over 2,500 jobs nationwide in the construction, operations, shipbuilding and manufacturing sectors, including over 1,000 union construction jobs. 

The August 22 stop-work order issued by the Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management (BOEM) did not identify any violation of law or imminent threat to safety, Tong said. The order abstractly cites BOEM’s authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), ordering the stop so that the agency may address unidentified “concerns.” No explanation was provided, Tong said.

Ørsted issued the following statement on September 22 in reaction to the ruling:

“The US District Court for the District of Columbia today granted the preliminary injunction sought by Revolution Wind regarding the government’s stop-work order, allowing Revolution Wind, LLC to restart impacted activities while the underlying lawsuit challenging the stop-work order progresses. Revolution Wind will continue to seek to work collaboratively with the US Administration and other stakeholders toward a prompt resolution.

“Revolution Wind will resume impacted construction work as soon as possible, with safety as the top priority. Ørsted’s subsidiary Revolution Wind, a 50/50 joint venture with Global Infrastructure Partners’ Skyborn Renewables, is constructing the Revolution Wind offshore wind project.”