Rhode Island’s laws, along with its economy, energy prices and resilience against climate change, hinge upon offshore wind projects now at risk under President Donald Trump’s administration, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha contends.
Which is why Neronha joined with 17 other Democratic attorneys general in asking a federal judge to block the federal administration from its “unlawful attempt” to halt the offshore wind sector.
The 101-page federal lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts on Monday marks the latest in a frenzy of legal challenges attacking Trump policies regarding education, immigration, research funding, public health, and grants and aid to state governments, among others.
“Mere hours after taking office, this President issued an executive order reaffirming his commitment to dismantling substantial clean energy progress in this country,” Neronha said in a statement Monday. “The development and implementation of renewable energy resources, including wind energy, is a crucial part of stabilizing energy prices at a time when Rhode Islanders are struggling to pay skyrocketing energy bills. Further, the continued development of wind energy will help us meet our state’s Act on Climate goals, provide quality jobs for Rhode Islanders, and help maintain a habitable planet for generations to come. We can’t afford any setbacks when it comes to climate, and we will fight to make sure our progress isn’t lost.”
The complaint argues that Trump and federal agencies violated separation of powers protections under the Administrative Procedure Act in reversing “longstanding federal policy” to promote offshore wind. It also contends the named defendants — including the U.S. departments of interior, agriculture, energy, treasury and commerce and their secretaries and the bureaus of land management and ocean energy management and their directors — violated federal environmental laws enshrining proper permitting and approval proceedings to protect clean air, endangered species and the ocean floor.
Renewable energy, including wind-powered electricity, has enjoyed bipartisan support dating back to the early oughts under President George H. W. Bush’s administration, which saw the industry grow by 400%. During Trump’s first term in office, federal agencies charged with overseeing leasing and permitting for offshore wind projects held seven auctions for new offshore wind leases and granted multiple leases to project developers, the lawsuit states.
Yet when Trump took office on Jan. 20, he issued a memo indefinitely pausing federal reviews and approvals for offshore wind projects. The “amorphous, redundant, extra-statutory, and multi-agency review” wreaked havoc on the nascent industry almost immediately, the lawsuit states.
“The Wind Directive has stopped most wind-energy development in its tracks, despite the fact that wind energy is a homegrown source of reliable, affordable energy that supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, creates billions of dollars in economic activity and tax payments, and supplies more than 10% of the country’s electricity,” the complaint states.
The 17 other attorneys general who joined the lawsuit with Neronha represent Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington.
They have asked a federal judge to declare Trump’s Jan. 20 memo unlawful and stop the named federal agencies and cabinet directors from delaying or preventing wind energy development.
Matthew Nies, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice, declined to comment on the lawsuit in an emailed response Tuesday.
SouthCoast Wind review pushed back
In Rhode Island, where construction on the 704-megawatt Revolution Wind project was already underway after securing all requisite federal and state approvals, advocates remained initially optimistic.
Rhode Island Energy was also in the midst of negotiations to buy another 200 megawatts of “nameplate capacity” wind electricity from a second project, SouthCoast Wind, at the time of Trump’s Jan. 20 memo. The wind project to be built off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard had already received seven out of 10 federal permits at the time. But suddenly, the expected completion date for its remaining federal reviews was extended, from March 27, 2025, to June 26, 2025, according to the lawsuit.
Rhode Island Energy has since pushed back its contract signing date with SouthCoast Wind developers, with multiple parties citing uncertainty in federal policy as one reason for the longer-than-anticipated negotiations. The utility company, along with companies in Massachusetts, now expects to finalize the deals setting energy purchase prices by June 30.
“We are watching this latest development, along with many others, to see how it may impact the development of the SouthCoast Wind project,” Caroline Pretyman, a Rhode Island Energy spokesperson, said of the lawsuit in an emailed response Tuesday.
Headwinds slowing the offshore wind industry intensified last month, after the U.S. Department of Interior ordered developers of an already-permitted wind project off New York, Empire Wind, to halt construction. U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in the April 16 directive that the project, approved under the Biden administration, was “rushed” and its approval granted “without sufficient analysis.”
Meaghan Wims, a spokesperson for Revolution Wind, declined to comment on any correspondence from federal agencies to the project developer in an email on April 18. Wims said there were no additional updates when contacted again Tuesday. The project being built off the coast of Block Island is expected to be completed in 2026, according to its website.
SouthCoast Wind in response to inquiries last month after the Empire Wind directive, referred back to its federal online permitting dashboard. The dashboard shows an expected June 25 completion date for all remaining permits under review — the same as was listed prior to the Empire Wind stop-work order.
A spokesperson for SouthCoast Wind also did not immediately respond to follow-up questions Tuesday.
Wind-powered electricity set to grow Rhode Island’s clean energy portfolio is critical to meet its climate change goals, codified under the 2021 Act on Climate Law and a 2022 law requiring the state to achieve 100% renewable electricity by 2033.
“The Wind Directive also harms Rhode Island’s ability to protect its residents, as part of a broader effort, from the growing impacts of climate change,” the complaint states. “As outlined above, delaying or preventing development of new wind energy in the region prevents New England states, including Rhode Island, from bringing new energy resources online that are important to ensure a reliable grid and cleaner renewable energy, and to combat the price volatility related to continued reliance on fossil fuels in the region.”
This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
