Trump Halts Huge Biden-Era East Coast Offshore Wind Project
The Department of the Interior (DOI) has suspended activity on a major offshore wind development off the coasts of Rhode Island and Connecticut, marking a significant step in President Donald Trump’s renewed commitment to restoring America’s energy dominance.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), which manages offshore projects, announced it is halting the Revolution Wind project on the federally-owned Outer Continental Shelf. The project was originally approved by the Biden administration in 2023, but Trump officials are rolling back federal support for what they describe as costly, unreliable green energy schemes.
“Americans deserve energy that is affordable, reliable, and built to last — not experimental and expensive wind projects that are proven failures,” DOI deputy press secretary Aubrie Spady told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “In line with President Donald Trump’s Energy Dominance Agenda, Interior is putting an immediate stop to these costly failures to deliver a stronger energy future and lower costs for American families. Like President Trump said, ‘the days of stupidity are over in the USA!’”
The announcement follows Trump’s July 7 executive order directing the Interior Department to eliminate preferential treatment for wind and solar energy in federal policy. His administration has since rolled out new permitting hurdles for green projects and formally canceled the Lava Ridge Wind Project in Idaho, a sprawling wind farm approved in the final weeks of Joe Biden’s presidency.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum underscored the administration’s commitment to protecting both wildlife and rural communities, noting earlier this month that offshore wind turbines “are known to kill eagles.” He pledged to enforce the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act more aggressively. In March, his agency also revoked a permit for a pending offshore wind development in New Jersey.
The wind industry itself has struggled to defend its record. A turbine malfunction off Nantucket in 2024 forced beach closures after debris scattered into the ocean. In 2023, environmental protests erupted over transmission cables and an alarming number of dolphin deaths along the East Coast. Fishermen have also sounded alarms, warning that their livelihoods cannot survive alongside massive offshore farms.
The Lava Ridge project, which would have spanned nearly 57,500 acres with 231 turbines, was touted as one of the nation’s largest renewable projects under Biden. But Interior officials said they uncovered “crucial legal deficiencies” in its approval, including failures to meet “statutorily binding criteria.”
Secretary Burgum explained the reversal bluntly: “Under President Donald Trump’s bold leadership, the Department is putting the brakes on deficient, unreliable energy and putting the American people first. By reversing the Biden administration’s thoughtless approval of the Lava Ridge Wind Project, we are protecting tens of thousands of acres from harmful wind policy while shielding the interests of rural Idaho communities. This decisive action defends the American taxpayer, safeguards our land, and averts what would have been one of the largest, most irresponsible wind projects in the nation.”
The project was reviewed under Trump’s memorandum titled “Temporary Withdrawal of All Areas on the Outer Continental Shelf from Offshore Leasing and Review of the Federal Government’s Leasing and Permitting Practices for Wind Projects.”
Idaho officials strongly supported the administration’s move. Governor Brad Little signed E.O. 2025-01, the “Gone with the Lava Ridge Wind Project Act,” directing state agencies to coordinate with Trump’s review. In February, the Idaho House of Representatives unanimously voted to oppose the project.
With these reversals, the Trump administration has made clear that America’s energy policy is returning to tried-and-true resources rather than unreliable experiments that harm communities, wildlife, and taxpayers.