Ørsted’s Revolution Wind Project Hit with Federal Stop-Work Order at 80% Completion

The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has ordered Ørsted’s Revolution Wind project to halt all offshore activities, delivering another setback to America’s emerging offshore wind industry. The directive, issued on August 22, 2025, comes as the project has reached 80% completion with all foundations installed and 45 of 65 planned wind turbines already in place.

Revolution Wind LLC, a 50/50 joint venture between Ørsted and Global Infrastructure Partner’s Skyborn Renewables, confirmed it is complying with the order and “taking appropriate steps to stop offshore activities, ensuring the safety of workers and the environment”.

The company stated it is “evaluating all options to resolve the matter expeditiously,” including engagement with permitting agencies and potential legal proceedings. Ørsted aims to resume construction to meet its commercial operation date in the second half of 2026.

In its directive to Ørsted, BOEM cited the need “to halt all ongoing activities related to the Revolution Wind Project on the outer continental shelf (OCS) to allow time for it to address concerns that have arisen during the review that the Department is undertaking pursuant to the President Trump’s Memorandum of January 20, 2025,” which suspended all federal approvals for wind energy projects and ordered a comprehensive review of existing wind energy projects.

The agency specifically mentioned concerns related to “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 holds fully approved permits, including its Construction and Operations Plan approval letter received on November 17, 2023, following a nine-year review process. The project has secured 20-year power purchase agreements to deliver 400 MW of electricity to Rhode Island and 304 MW to Connecticut, with the capacity to power over 350,000 homes.

The company noted that South Fork Wind, an adjacent project using identical turbine technology, “delivered reliable energy to New York at a capacity factor of 53% for the first half of 2025, on par with the state’s baseload power sources.”

This development follows similar action against Equinor’s Empire Wind project, which faced a temporary stoppage earlier this year. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum had cited “concerns about the previous administration’s approval process” for that suspension.

While Empire Wind’s stoppage was eventually lifted after a month, the interruption had significant financial consequences. Equinor reported “a significant impairment of $763 million related to its Empire Wind 1 offshore wind project and South Brooklyn Marine Terminal development” in its second quarter 2025 financial results.

Ørsted is now “evaluating the potential financial implications of this development” and will “advise the market on the potential impact of the order” on its recently announced plan to conduct a rights issue.

The company emphasized that Revolution Wind has already created hundreds of local union jobs, contributing to “approximately 4 million labour union hours to date” across Ørsted’s U.S. offshore wind projects, with 2 million hours specifically from Revolution Wind.

Revolution Wind has 60 days to file an appeal if it chooses to contest the determination.

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