Overview

• BOEM acting director Matthew Giacona issued an Aug. 22 stop‑work order halting all activities on the 704 MW project off Rhode Island and Connecticut under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to protect national security and prevent interference with other ocean uses.
• Ørsted reports the project is about 80% complete with 45 of 65 turbines installed, fully permitted with BOEM’s Construction and Operations Plan approval in November 2023, and contracted to deliver 400 MW to Rhode Island and 304 MW to Connecticut.
• The developer says it is complying with the order and is evaluating all options, including potential legal action, with a stated aim to continue toward a commercial operation date in the second half of 2026.
• Rhode Island and Connecticut officials, including Governors Dan McKee and Ned Lamont and Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, vowed to seek legal and other remedies to restore work on the project.
• The halt fits a wider pattern of administration actions curbing wind development, including a pause on new offshore leasing, a national security probe of turbine imports, and prior stops or reversals such as Empire Wind and Lava Ridge, which industry groups say are chilling investment and threatening jobs.