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Only days after Ørsted reported in its half-year results that Revolution Wind was at 80 per cent of completion, the US Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issued a stop-work order halting all offshore construction activities on the 704 MW project that is scheduled to start feeding electricity into Connecticut and Rhode Island grids next year.
Offshore construction on Revolution Wind started last year, following the final federal approval from BOEM. Currently, the project is nearing completion with all offshore foundations and 45 out of 65 wind turbines installed.
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According to a Notice to Mariners issued on 18 August, Bokalift 2 and supporting vessels were scheduled to arrive at the site on or around 22 August for offshore substation installation, with the vessel White Marlin transporting the topside to the site. The AIS data available online shows Bokalift 2 is currently anchored at Jamestown Port but White Marlin is shown as sailing towards the project site.
In the order halting all ongoing Revolution Wind-related activities on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), issued on 22 August, BOEM’s Acting Director states that this would allow time for BOEM “to address concerns that have arisen during the review that the Department is undertaking pursuant to the President’s Memorandum of January 20, 2025”.
According to the document, the Bureau is particularly focused on addressing “concerns related to the 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” , as described in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA).