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US plans to revoke approval of another Massachusetts offshore wind farm

September 4, 2025 — President Donald Trump’s administration plans to revoke federal approval of Avangrid’s planned New England Wind project off the coast of Massachusetts, according to a court filing on Wednesday.

The legal maneuver is the latest move by U.S. authorities to stymie development of offshore wind energy, which Trump has called ugly, expensive, and unreliable. Last week, the administration also said it was reconsidering approval of SouthCoast Wind, another planned Massachusetts project.

In recent weeks, Trump has deployed a range of tactics to stop offshore wind expansion, which was a cornerstone of former President Joe Biden’s efforts to combat climate change but has struggled with soaring costs and supply chain snags. Most notably, Trump’s Interior Department late last month issued a stop-work order on the Revolution Wind project off the coast of Rhode Island, which is 80% complete.

In Wednesday’s court filing, attorneys for the Department of Justice said they would move by October 10 to vacate the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s approval of the New England Wind construction and operations plan.

Read the full article at Reuters

CT-based Avangrid wind farm under scrutiny, energy production halted, after blade shatters.

August 7, 2024 — The massive blade that broke off a windmill tower, splashed down into the ocean and had pieces wash up on Nantucket beaches a few weeks ago is having repercussions here today in Connecticut.

The joint venture project being developed by a division of Orange-based Avangrid and a Dutch renewable energy company is under scrutiny, even as construction of the 806-megawatt offshore wind farm came to halt in mid-July when a 300-foot section of a 360-foot blade broke off one of the turbines that are part of Vineyard Wind. The project, which is a joint venture of Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, is being developed about 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, and 35 miles from mainland Massachusetts.

The project began producing 5 megawatts of electricity at the start of 2024 and has gradually been increasing its power production, but that energy production has also been halted as the investigation into what caused the turbine blade to break off is still underway. The joint venture partners are also still scrambling to clean up the shards of fiberglass from the turbine that smashed into pieces and washed ashore beaches on both islands during the height of the summer tourist season.

Read the full article at CT Insider