Battle Erupts As New England Defies Trump’s Last-Minute Axe On Nearly-Finished Wind Farm

The Trump administration slammed the brakes on Transformation Wind, an offshore wind farm that was already 80% complete. The sudden halt—ordered through the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management—cited vague “national security interests” and a need for policy review. Talk about terrible timing. The $4 billion project was set to power 350,000 New England homes across Connecticut and Rhode Island with over 700 megawatts of clean electricity.

The administration pulled the plug on a nearly-finished clean energy project that would’ve powered hundreds of thousands of homes.

State officials are furious. They’re calling the decision abrupt and harmful—and they’re not wrong. The project represents years of planning, billions in investment, and was a cornerstone of regional climate goals. Now it’s just… stopped. Mid-construction. Developers like Ørsted, who’ve already poured money into the project, were blindsided.

This isn’t the administration’s first rodeo with killing wind farms. It’s actually the second time they’ve halted construction on an offshore project. The stop-work order came directly from executive orders signed on inauguration day, suspending all offshore wind permitting and leasing. How convenient.

Connecticut’s energy commissioner didn’t mince words. The halt undermines affordable, domestically produced clean energy. Without Evolution Wind’s capacity, New England faces higher energy costs and reduced reliability. Not exactly what consumers need right now.

The Department of Commerce claims they need to investigate imported wind turbine components. They’re reviewing “potential vulnerabilities” in energy infrastructure. Meanwhile, the industry is already struggling with financial stress and market uncertainty. Foreign investors are thinking twice about putting money into U.S. offshore wind. Can you blame them?

Environmental organizations see this as a major setback to clean energy shift efforts. States had been counting on offshore wind to meet greenhouse gas reduction targets. Those plans? Up in the air now.

The battle lines are drawn. New England states on one side, federal authorities on the other. And caught in the middle: a nearly-finished wind farm, thousands of jobs, and the region’s energy future. About 1,200 workers across Connecticut and Rhode Island, including approximately 200 jobs at State Pier in New London, now face an uncertain future as the project remains in limbo. The development comes at a critical time when solar and wind are projected to generate over 30% of global power by 2030. The Connecticut Attorney General has joined Governor Lamont in vocally opposing the decision, stating that they are evaluating potential legal proceedings against the federal government.