Danish Firm Ørsted Sues To Save US Offshore Wind Jobs

The Danish renewable energy company Ørsted is actively suing the U.S. Department of the Interior to lift a stop-work order that has effectively halted the 704-megawatt Revolution Wind offshore project off Rhode Island. This project had employed over 1,000 unionized workers, many of whom are blue-collar laborers and some Trump voters who relied on the work as critical supplemental income. The stop-work order, issued by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, cited vague “concerns” without specifying any legal violations or safety threats, prompting frustration among workers and local stakeholders. In response, the attorneys general of Connecticut and Rhode Island have also filed suit to compel the Trump administration to rescind the order, emphasizing the lack of clear justification for the halt. Sea Services North America, a cooperative of fishing boat owners involved in supporting the project, publicly appealed for the order’s reversal, underscoring the economic hardship caused by the shutdown.