Overview

• Acting BOEM director Matthew Giacona ordered Ørsted to stop all activities at the Rhode Island–Connecticut project pending a federal review.
• The roughly $1.5 billion offshore installation is about 80% built, with 45 of 65 turbines installed and a planned capacity of 704 megawatts to serve approximately 350,000 homes.
• Ørsted is assessing financial impacts and had previously announced a planned 60 billion Danish kroner equity raise to support ongoing projects.
• The stop order marks BOEM’s second construction intervention this year, following an earlier Equinor approval revocation that was later reversed after talks with New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
• Industry representatives warn that halting a nearly finished project threatens jobs and investment, and Equinor has estimated about $1 billion in costs from recent disruptions.