Off the coast of Rhode Island, offshore wind development is moving forward in parallel with a federal effort to slow or stop the industry, according to an Associated Press visit to active and nearly finished projects on Thursday.
The AP traveled roughly 100 miles (161 kilometers) offshore and reported seeing three of the five wind farms in the area. Two of the five were fully operational, two were nearly done, and one was about halfway built, underscoring a split between construction timelines and the shifting policy environment. Wind farms are taking shape along the East Coast even as Trump, the report said, seeks to end U.S. offshore wind and has described wind turbines as “ugly.”
At Revolution Wind, AP said the first turbines were visible from about 5 nautical miles away, with some blades turning as early morning winds picked up. The project’s development site included workers inside the wind farm’s central hub, described as a large gray substation. The AP reported that Revolution Wind is more than 90% complete, has recently begun delivering power to New England’s grid, and is on track to be completed this year. Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind are being built, the AP said, to power about 1 million homes across Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York.
Nearby at Sunrise Wind, the AP reported construction as nearly 50% complete and described a mix of installed turbines and empty yellow foundations waiting for towers and blades. The report also said a vessel with giant cranes to install components was parked nearby, and it described the sight of a spinning turbine tip near the clouds.
The AP placed those projects in context with South Fork Wind, which borders the Revolution Wind site and began commercial operation about two years earlier. The report said South Fork Wind’s 12 turbines can send enough power to New York for more than 70,000 homes, and it said technicians used a floating home base vessel’s gangway to reach turbine foundations. When South Fork Wind opened in 2024, the AP reported that Biden administration officials said it was the beginning of a broader wave of offshore wind intended to confront climate change, create jobs and accelerate a transition to clean energy.
The AP said the next phase of that transition has faced legal and regulatory headwinds after Trump returned to office. It reported that the administration ordered a temporary halt to leasing and permitting for wind energy projects, paused work on wind farms under construction, arranged a $1 billion payout to a French energy company to walk away from U.S. offshore wind development, and added an extra layer of review for wind and solar projects. Federal judges have struck down some of those actions, including a ruling Tuesday that stopped the administration from implementing some policies slowing development of clean energy.