Federal Government Will Consider Revoking RI’s Offshore Wind Farm Permit
The Army Corps of Engineers is Reviewing the Petition Filed By Green Oceans and A Coalition of Tribal Nations, Fishing Organizations, and Conservation Groups to Revoke Revolution Wind’s Permit
The petition cites National Security Risks, Environmental Harm, and Misleading Economic Claims as bases for Revocation.
According to Green Oceans, based in Little Compton, RI, the Army Corps has confirmed it is reviewing the Green Oceans’ petition to revoke Ørsted’s Revolution Wind permit. Ørsted’s Revolution Wind project was advertised to be a 704-megawatt offshore wind farm under construction off the coast of Rhode Island and Connecticut, with the capacity to power over 350,000 homes by 2026 as the first multi-state offshore wind project in the U.S. However, recent data clearly demonstrate that the project has delivered far lower power levels than projected. But the offshore wind farm is also now facing growing legal problems.
The petition cites a deeply flawed Public Interest Review that fatally tainted the Revolution Wind approval process and failed to comply with federal law.
The petitioners include Green Oceans, the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head/Aquinnah, Narragansett Indian Tribe, Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, Fishermen Against Offshore Wind, and the Rhode Island Commercial Fishing Association, as well as Save the East Coast, Protect Our Coast Long Island NY, Save Our Bay, Brayton Point, ACK For Whales, Save Greater Dowses Beach, and Protect Our Westport Waters.
The petition raised three red flags:
- The Corps ignored the project’s repeated discharges of arsenic, which exceeded 1000% of allowable levels, and other toxic chemicals, into Narragansett Bay and surrounding wetlands.
- The Corps disregarded interference with the only East Coast early warning radar system for ballistic missiles, as well as airport surveillance radar critical for aviation safety.
- It misrepresented the economic impacts—never accounting for lost jobs in the fishing industry or the economic harm from increased electricity rates this project will impose on New Englanders.
“This petition demands environmental justice and accountability from a government that fast-tracked these destructive projects without following the law,” said Dr. Lisa Quattrocki Knight, President of Green Oceans.
The petition, filed in June, says the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) relied heavily on the Corps’ Public Interest Review for its Record of Decision and final permit authorizations. The flawed review violated the Corps’ statutory responsibilities and tainted BOEM’s decisions.
“Revolution Wind threatens our environment, burdens ratepayers, — particularly working families and those on fixed incomes — and undermines national security,” said Dr. Knight. “It devastates the marine ecosystem without any proven benefit to the climate. This project isn’t sound policy; it’s political theater at the public’s expense.”
About Green Oceans
Green Oceans is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, community organization dedicated to combating climate change without jeopardizing the health of the ocean or the life it sustains.
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