Saving Seafood

Revolution Wind, a key offshore wind project and object of scorn for Trump admin, comes online

March 16, 2026 — A large offshore wind project off the coast of Connecticut and Rhode Island that was repeatedly stopped by the Trump administration came online Friday evening, sending clean energy to New England’s power grid.

The project, known as Revolution Wind, is nearing the end of construction and will ultimately generate up to 704 megawatts of electricity — the equivalent of powering 350,000 homes. That’s about 2.5% of New England’s electric supply. Construction on Revolution Wind is expected to be completed later this year.

“This project is key to diversifying our energy supply and lowering utility costs for families and businesses,” said Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont in a statement.

“Today’s milestone marks an important step forward for Rhode Island’s energy future,” Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee said in a statement.

Read the full article at nhpr

RHODE ISLAND: Recent fishermen’s deaths hit home in Point Judith

March 13, 2026 — This winter has been an especially difficult season for the fishermen of New England, with the death of a Stonington man and two recent boat sinkings.

On Jan. 25, late at night, Thomas Williams’ body was found in the water near the town dock in Stonington. Williams was a well known captain of the F/V Heritage and a long-time local fisherman out of Stonington and Point Judith.

Last Wednesday, New Bedford, Mass., police rescued a man from freezing water, according to 7 News Boston. The man fell between two fishing vessels, where he became trapped and unable to get out. Five officers were able to pull him safely out of the water after he was found holding onto dock lines.

A day later, the commercial fishing vessel Yankee Rose sank off Cape Cod, according to the Associated Press. The U.S. Coast Guard was able to pull one person out of the water, but the second crew member is still missing.

As a third-generation fisherman, Williams was a staple of the Rhode Island community for over 25 years. He was known as one of the best fishermen in Rhode Island, according to Fred Mattera, a retired local fisherman and president of the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation.

Read the full article at The Independent

RHODE ISLAND: Initiative looks to restore Rhode Island’s quahog populations

March 2, 2026 — A reseeding initiative from researchers, state, and industry leaders is looking to strengthen Rhode Island’s quahog fisheries in Narragansett Bay.

Led by researchers at Roger Williams University’s (RWU) Center for Economic and Environmental Development (CEED), the project integrates aquaculture, disease testing, and hands-on student training to support wild shellfish populations and the state’s seafood economy.

The project is funded through a Partnership for Research Excellence in Sustainable Seafood (PRESS) grant, and will be done in partnership with the Rhode Island Shellfisherman’s Association (RISA).

Read the full article at Aquaculture North America 

Roger Williams University Heads Reseeding Initiative to Strengthen Rhode Island’s Quahog Fisheries

February 23, 2026 — Roger Williams University’s Center for Economic and Environmental Development (CEED) is guiding a research-driven initiative to strengthen Rhode Island’s quahog fisheries in Narragansett Bay. The project integrates aquaculture, disease testing, and hands-on student training to support wild shellfish populations and the state’s seafood economy.

Funded through a Partnership for Research Excellence in Sustainable Seafood (PRESS) grant at the University of Rhode Island’s College of the Environment and Life Sciences and supported by NOAA, the initiative supports research that advances sustainable seafood. Through the program, CEED is studying wild quahog populations in partnership with the Rhode Island Shellfisherman’s Association (RISA).

“The aim of this work is to address commercial and recreational harvester concerns about the declining clam population in Narragansett Bay,” said Robert J. Holmberg, a Shellfish Aquaculture and Hatchery Specialist, and RWU Assistant Professor of Marine Biology and CEED’s Shellfish Aquaculture and Hatchery Specialist. “They’ve declined over decades due to several factors, but this project specifically focuses on understanding how disease and reproductive health impact quahog populations.”

Read the full article at Roger Williams University 

Judge in Virginia Hands Trump 3rd Setback This Week on Wind Farms

January 20, 2026 — President Trump’s efforts to stifle the offshore wind power industry suffered a third legal setback this week, after a federal judge ruled on Friday that an $11.2 billion wind farm off the coast of Virginia can resume construction.

The Interior Department last month ordered all work to stop on the Virginia wind farm and four other offshore wind projects under construction, citing unspecified national security concerns. The developers of the projects have all sued in various courts, arguing that the government failed to justify its actions and that any delays would cause irreparable harm to the companies.

So far, judges have sided with the companies. On Friday, Judge Jamar K. Walker of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia issued a preliminary injunction that would allow the Virginia wind farm to continue construction while its developer, Dominion Energy, pursues its legal case against the stop-work order.

Separate federal judges this week have already issued preliminary injunctions that allowed two other projects — Revolution Wind, off Rhode Island and Empire Wind, off New York — to restart construction.

Read the full article at The New York Times

Burgum ordered Revolution Wind’s August halt, documents show

January 16, 2026 — Interior Secretary Doug Burgum personally ordered the halt of an offshore wind project off of New England in August, but federal officials later downplayed his participation, according to emails obtained by POLITICO’s E&E News.

Such direct involvement from a political appointee in an individual project is unusual, analysts and industry experts say. The sequence of events, shown in documents released to E&E News in a public records request, hint at the extent to which some of the most senior officials in the Trump administration are involved in the president’s anti-wind agenda.

Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued a stop-work order for Revolution Wind in August. The $6.2 billion offshore wind project is expected to generate enough power for 350,000 homes in Rhode Island and Connecticut.

Read the full article at E&E News

Rebuking Trump Administration, Judge Allows Revolution Wind To Continue Construction

January 14, 2025 — A federal judge ruled Monday that Revolution Wind can continue construction work as its legal appeal of the Trump administration’s freeze on federal leases for offshore wind projects progresses. Revolution Wind, located off Rhode Island, is one of three wind farms suing over the pause, which the Trump administration claims is necessary to mitigate national security concerns.

District of Columbia Judge Royce Lamberth said the federal government did not provide sufficient justification for the freeze and found that Revolution Wind was likely to succeed on the merits of the case.

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum claimed that the pause “addresses emerging national security risks, including the rapid evolution of the relevant adversary technologies, and the vulnerabilities created by large-scale offshore wind projects with proximity near our east coast population centers.”

The Trump administration has been vague about the specific nature of its national security concerns, and some critics have alleged that the government’s actions are more related to President Donald Trump’s personal dislike of wind turbines.

Revolution Wind called the administration’s actions unlawful, saying it had consulted with the Department of Defense on potential national security issues and had even reached a formal mitigation agreement.

Read the full article at the Nantucket Current

Judge Strikes Down Trump’s Latest Effort to Stop Offshore Wind Project

January 13, 2026 — A federal judge on Monday ruled that construction could resume on a $6.2 billion wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island, striking down the Trump administration’s decision last month to halt work on the Revolution Wind project.

Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the Interior Department’s suspension order was “arbitrary and capricious” in violation of federal law.

Revolution Wind is one of five offshore wind projects under construction along the East Coast that were ordered to stop work last month by the Trump administration, which cited unspecified national security concerns. Several states, as well as developers of four of the projects, have challenged the move in court. The case involving Revolution Wind was the first complaint to be heard.

The decision is a temporary victory for Revolution Wind and the offshore wind industry, which has been roiled by the Trump administration’s efforts to block offshore wind farms that had received permits under the Biden administration. Orsted, the Danish energy giant that is building Revolution Wind, can now continue with construction as litigation it has filed against the Trump administration proceeds.

Read the full article at The New York Times

Offshore wind developer prevails in U.S. court as Trump calls wind farms ‘losers’

January 13, 2026 — A federal judge ruled Monday that work on a major offshore wind farm for Rhode Island and Connecticut can resume, handing the industry at least a temporary victory as President Trump seeks to shut it down.

At the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Senior Judge Royce Lamberth said the government did not explain why it could not take action short of a complete stop to construction on Revolution Wind while it considers ways to mitigate its national security concerns. He said it also did not provide sufficient reasoning for its change in position.

Revolution Wind has received all of its federal permits and is nearly 90% complete to provide power for Rhode Island and Connecticut.

Trump says his goal is to not let any “windmills” be built. Three energy developers are challenging the administration’s freeze of their offshore wind projects in the federal courts this week.

Danish energy company Orsted, Norwegian company Equinor, and Dominion Energy Virginia each sued to ask the courts to vacate and set aside the administration’s Dec. 22 order to freeze five big projects on the East Coast over national security concerns. Orsted’s hearing was first on its Revolution Wind project. Orsted said it will soon resume construction to deliver affordable, reliable power to the Northeast.

Read the full article at The Associated Press

Trump cites national security risk to defend wind freeze in court

January 12, 2026 — The Interior Department is defending its decision to halt construction of the Revolution Wind project off the coasts of Rhode Island and Connecticut over alleged national security concerns.

The agency is facing a flurry of legal challenges after Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management ordered a 90-day pause on construction for the New England energy farm, along with four other offshore wind projects along the Eastern Seaboard. Those projects are Empire Wind 1, Sunrise Wind, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind and Vineyard Wind 1.

The agency decided the Dec. 22 order was necessary after the Department of Defense (renamed the Department of War by President Donald Trump) issued a classified report late last year about the security risks of offshore wind, Justice Department attorneys said in a Thursday brief to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Read the full article at E&E News