Orsted resumes contruction on windpower project off Rhode Island blocked by Trump

Edited from a New England Council report

BOSTON

Following a U.S. District Court decision overturning a federal stop-work order, construction has resumed on the Revolution Wind offshore wind project. The project — about 15 miles southwest of Point Judith, R.I. — is now more than 80 percent complete. It’s a joint venture of  Ørsted A/S and Eversource Energy. 

Resuming operations brings about 200 union workers, out of the 2,000 employed throughout the project, back to the construction site. The offshore wind farm had faced a stop-work order issued on Dec. 22 by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. 

{Editor’s Note: Donald Trump, tightly allied with the fossil-fuel sector, has sought to kill all coastal- and offshore-wind projects.}

“Safety remains the top priority as construction resumed,” said Meaghan Wims, spokesperson for Orsted A/S. Michael F. Sabitoni, general secretary-treasurer of the Laborers’ International Union of North America and president of the Rhode Island Building & Construction Trades Council, noted the significance of workers returning to the job site after the temporary stoppage.