Revolution Wind, an offshore wind project off the coast of Rhode Island, officially turned Friday night and started providing power to the New England electric grid.  The project, a partnership between Danish energy company Ørsted and Global Infrastructure Partners’ Skyborn Renewables, is no t at full power yet, with only about 90% of the project completed. The project is expected to be completed this year. For now, it will scale up its power generation in the coming days and weeks according to an Ørsted spokesperson. “Revolution Wind is adding affordable, reliable American-made energy to New England’s grid, helping to meet growing energy demand and lower consumer costs,” said Amanda Dasch, the chief development officer at Ørsted, in a press release. “By producing more power here at home, we reduce dependence on imports, create local jobs, and support long-term economic growth.” Once fully completed, the project is expected to supply 704 megawatts of carbon-free power to the New England electric grid. The project is supported by power-purchase agreements with utilities in Connecticut and Rhode Island. It’s also expected to open up more than 2,000 jobs in construction, manufacturing, shipbuilding and operations, according to the project’s website. U.S. Rep Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, celebrated the project coming online. “At a time when Americans are being hit with increasing energy costs, flipping the on switch to start Revolution Wind will bring cheaper electricity to Connecticut’s consumers,” Courtney said in a statement. “Crucially, because this wind energy is directly transmitted off the coast of New England, its price will not be at the mercy of uncertain global energy markets.” As of 10 a.m. Monday, wind accounted for about 7% of all the energy used in New England, according to ISO New England. It was also producing nearly two-thirds of the region’s renewable power. The path to get here wasn’t smooth sailing. The Trump administration twice attempted to cancel the project. The first time was in August 2025, when the project was 80% complete. The administration cited unspecified national security concerns as its rationale for halting the project, though developers said it had undergone extensive reviews during the years-long permitting process, which included approvals from the federal Department of Defense. A federal judge allowed the project to resume in September, saying the government lacked justification for the stop-work order.  In December, the administration again issued a stop-work order for the project — which was 87% complete by then — to evaluate national security concerns. The order also applied to four other projects: Massachusetts’ Vineyard Wind, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, and New York’s Empire Wind and Sunrise Wind — the latter a sister project to Revolution Wind. The federal judge, Royce Lamberth, again allowed work to continue on Revolution Wind in January. (Judges in all the other cases have also allowed work to continue on those projects.) Lamberth said that a stop-work order is reserved only for “emergency situations and demonstrated findings of particularized harm that cannot be averted short of a total stop to project activity.” The federal government did not appeal Lamberth’s latest ruling by the deadline to do so Friday evening, just as Revolution Wind was turning on. President Donald Trump has long been a critic of offshore wind. He repeatedly spread false and misleading claims about turbines, including that they kill whales and cause cancer in humans.  On the first day of his second term, Trump signed an executive order calling for the reevaluation of offshore wind projects. The order prevented the federal government from issuing new or renewed approvals, permits or loans for wind projects “pending the completion of a comprehensive assessment and review of Federal wind leasing and permitting practices.”  The order said that these projects can cause “grave harm,” like issues with navigational safety, transportation and national security, and can pose risks to marine life.  Connecticut Attorney General William Tong filed multiple legal challenges against the the administration’s cancellations at Revolution Wind. He and a coalition of 18 other attorneys general sued Trump over his executive order in May. A judge ruled in favor of a coalition in December, calling the administration’s actions “arbitrary and capricious.”  “Trump’s erratic attacks on wind energy and his bizarre rants about windmills never made any sense. He was going to jack up energy costs for American families and businesses, further our reliance on fossil fuels and foreign oil, and throw workers off good jobs,” Tong said in a press release after the decision. “We sued, we won, and I’m going to keep fighting to protect Connecticut’s ability to secure our own energy future that makes sense for our costs and climate.” In his statement late late week, Congressman Courtney praised trade workers for their efforts through the court battles. “Today’s milestone never would have happened without talented Connecticut building trades workers, who persevered through the Trump Administration’s illegal halt work orders that were rejected by every court in the country,” he said. A second bright spot for New England’s offshore wind industry occurred over the weekend when the developers of Vineyard Wind 1 — an 800 MW project off the coast of Massachusetts announced they had finished construction and that all 62 of the project’s turbines were producing power. The project achieved first power in January. ...read more read less