NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (AP) — Revolution Wind, a nearly complete wind farm off the coast of Southern New England, faces an uncertain future.
The governors of Rhode Island and Connecticut, members of Congress and union workers made a call on Monday for the Trump administration to let construction resume. The administration halted construction on the project last week, saying the federal government needs to review it and address unspecified national security concerns.
The Democratic politicians are getting involved because stopping work on Revolution Wind threatens local jobs and their states’ climate goals, and could drive up electricity prices throughout the region.
Officials say Revolution Wind, which is 12 miles southwest of Martha’s Vineyard, is 80% complete, with all the underwater foundations and 45 out of 65 turbines already installed.
President Donald Trump has made sweeping strides to prioritize fossil fuels and hinder renewable energy projects. Those include reviewing wind and solar energy permits, canceling plans to use large areas of federal waters for new offshore wind development and stopping work on another offshore wind project under construction for New York, although construction was later allowed to resume.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said during Monday’s press conference that it was “nuts, crazy, insane” to halt a fully approved project that would save ratepayers hundreds of millions of dollars. He expects the courts to agree that the Trump administration acted unlawfully when it stopped the project based on “secret information.”
Revolution Wind is expected to be Rhode Island and Connecticut’s first large offshore wind farm, capable of powering more than 350,000 homes. Power would be provided at a rate of 9.8 cents per kilowatt hour, locked in for 20 years. That is cheaper than the average cost of electricity in New England.
About 1,000 union members have been working on Revolution Wind, and those jobs are now at risk.
“This isn’t work that anybody can do,” Keith Brothers, business manager of the Connecticut Laborers’ District Council, said about the specialized skills the workers on this project have. “We’ve taken people from the military, we’ve placed them on jobs on this specific site, that’s important.”
A statement from North America’s Building Trades Unions was more direct: “President Donald Trump just fired 1,000 of our members.”
The developer, Danish energy company Orsted, is evaluating the financial impact of stopping construction and considering legal proceedings.
Story by The Associated Press
About Jim McCabe
