Key Takeaways
A court ruled that the Revolution Wind project off the coast of Rhode Island and Connecticut could continue construction while a lawsuit against it proceeds.
The Trump administration halted construction on the wind project when it was 80% complete for national security reasons.
Offshore wind is extremely expensive and operates less than half the time that fossil fuel and nuclear technologies operate.
New England states have some of the highest electricity prices in the nation due to their policies of limiting natural gas pipelines, forcing green mandates, joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, and retiring coal plants.
Despite already high prices, residents in Connecticut will be paying higher prices for power from Revolution Wind than from the state’s current generating sources.
On September 22, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that Revolution Wind can resume construction while its lawsuit is ongoing. The project involves installing 65 large wind turbines, two offshore substations, interconnecting cables, and an export cable located about 15 miles east of Block Island and 16 miles from Newport, Rhode Island. This area includes the ecologically sensitive Coxes Ledge. The wind farm is primarily intended to supply power to Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. The Revolution Wind project was 80% complete when the Trump administration issued a stop-work order, with 45 of the 65 wind turbines installed. The stop work order was issued to address “concerns related to the protection of national security interests of the United States and prevention of interference with reasonable uses of the exclusive economic zone, the high seas, and the territorial seas.” Revolution Wind has invested roughly $5 billion in the project and expects to incur an additional $1 billion in breakaway costs if it were permanently halted.
A lawsuit claims that the Biden administration, in issuing its permit to Revolution Wind, failed to protect the environment by ignoring the relevant federal statutory obligations under the Administrative Procedure Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, National Historic Preservation Act, and Clean Water Act. The judge dismissed three of the lawsuits’ claims — the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, and Coastal Zone Management Act — but permitted most to continue.
Revolution Wind’s electricity is sold through Power Purchase Agreements, with the states of Rhode Island and Connecticut having a guaranteed price. In 2018, Connecticut agreed to purchase up to 304 megawatts at a guaranteed rate of $99 per megawatt-hour, while Rhode Island committed to 400 megawatts at an undisclosed price. Under the agreements, if wholesale electricity prices fall below the contract rate, the shortfall is covered by ratepayers through a portion of the public benefits charge on their utility bills.
The cost of power from offshore wind is far more than the cost from onshore wind. Offshore wind costs are exorbitant, as developers must handle mounting the wind turbines in rough ocean waters, running extensive cables underground to bring the power to the coast, and maintaining the turbines in turbulent ocean waters that make their operating and maintenance costs almost five times that of onshore wind. According to President Trump, offshore wind disrupts fishing zones, threatens wildlife such as birds and bats, damages large sections of the ocean floor, jeopardizes the North Atlantic Right Whale’s survival, and burdens Americans with high electricity costs and unreliable electricity — all while operating at less than half its rated capacity.
New England’s High Electricity Prices
Excluding California, the New England states slated to buy power from Revolution Wind have the highest residential electricity prices in the lower 48. These states belong to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, have green mandates, limited access to low-cost natural gas due to pipeline restrictions, and have retired their coal plants. Transitioning to high-cost renewable energy essentially means they are paying for the build-out of a new generating system. Pushing for an accelerated green energy transition, while phasing out reliable energy sources like coal, is linked to rising utility costs and reliability issues.
Analysis
It remains to be seen whether the Trump administration’s lawsuit against Revolution Wind has any merit; however, the district court clearly views the harms to the project resulting from the work stoppage as substantial enough to warrant an injunction. No matter how the legal proceedings play out, offshore wind remains an expensive and intermittent generating source that has gained traction primarily due to subsidies and restrictions on access to natural gas. Even if the Revolution Wind project continues, efforts by the Trump administration and Congress to revive natural gas pipelines and eliminate tax credits for offshore wind should make the technology a less popular choice going forward.
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