Written by Abby L. Watson, President & Co-Founder of The Groundwire Group
Picture this: Construction crews working 80% of the way through building Revolution Wind – Connecticut and Rhode Island’s first major offshore wind farm – were ordered to stop work immediately. Seven hundred megawatts of nearly-completed clean energy infrastructure, enough to power ~400,000 homes across Connecticut and Rhode Island, suddenly frozen in place.
While the federal order to halt construction on Revolution Wind has since been lifted by a temporary court order, these actions are no more than economic sabotage disguised as energy policy. This isn’t just another political football – it’s a direct attack on New England’s energy future and the livelihoods of thousands of workers from Boston to New London.
The Local Damage is Real
Revolution Wind plans to deliver its first power to New England homes this year. And yet, the project sat 80% complete for 31 days, generating nothing but uncertainty while adding $2 million per day to the project cost. The ripple effects have been already been felt across the region’s maritime economy.
Gulf Coast vessel operators who invested hundreds of millions in specialized ships for offshore wind construction were forced to idle expensive assets. Union workers who relocated to New England for steady offshore wind employment faced an uncertain future. Ports from Boston to Providence that retooled their facilities to support the offshore wind boom watched their investments gather dust.
Halting a project that is 80% complete doesn’t just freeze steel in the water, it erodes trust in these long-term investments. But the real victims are the New England families facing rising electricity costs. Every month Revolution Wind sits incomplete is another month that 400,000 homes go without the clean, affordable power they were promised.
The Skills Crisis We’re Creating
Across New England, thousands of people are enrolled in offshore wind training programs – welding certification in Massachusetts, turbine technician courses in Rhode Island, maritime safety training in Connecticut. These workers invested in their futures based on the promise of a growing industry. Now they’re asking a reasonable question: what the hell am I doing with my life?
Here’s what they need to know: their skills still matter. The offshore wind industry in the U.S. already supports more than 17,000 jobs, with tens of thousands more coming. These are jobs that can’t be outsourced – you can’t marshal wind turbine components at U.S. ports or crew Jones Act-compliant vessels with foreign workers.
In Massachusetts alone, tens of millions have already invested in training, scholarships, and port infrastructure to prepare for offshore wind. The Offshore Wind Academyhas trained hundreds of professionals this year alone: engineers, managers, and executives who believe their future is in this industry.
Global Competition & Leadership
Offshore wind is not a race that New England can afford to sit out. Europe already has over 30 gigawatts spinning, Asia is rapidly accelerating, and the U.S. risks being sidelined. Our ports are ready, our workforce is trained, and our companies are eager, but if projects stall, that expertise won’t vanish, it will migrate overseas.
New England has always led America’s energy transitions: from whale oil to coal to natural gas. We built the expertise, the infrastructure, and the workforce that powered the nation’s growth. The offshore wind industry represents our next chapter in that story.
Offshore wind isn’t just about clean power; it’s about whether America leads or lags in the next global energy economy. The choice is simple: either we let New England workers build our offshore future, or we watch others seize it.
Workers learning to operate complex equipment in harsh marine environments will find opportunities, whether that’s on wind turbines, oil platforms, or the next generation of offshore energy technology. The expertise being built today becomes the foundation for whatever comes next.
The Fundamentals Haven’t Changed
Step back from the political theater and the economic reality is clear: New England desperately needs new sources of clean electricity. Coastal states where land-based renewable development is constrained by space and opposition still need massive amounts of new power. AI and data centers alone are projected to double their energy consumption by 2030.
Massachusetts remains committed to developing offshore wind. So do Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York. These states didn’t suddenly decide they don’t need clean electricity because Washington changed course. They understand that energy independence and affordability require building new generation capacity, not abandoning projects that are nearly complete.
The wind resource 15 miles off the Rhode Island coast didn’t stop blowing. The demand for electricity in New England didn’t disappear. What we have is a temporary political disruption of sound economic and technological fundamentals.
What This Means For Our Future
Every energy transition in American history has faced political resistance. The forces of inertia always fight the future, but they always lose – usually after creating unnecessary costs and delays that ordinary families end up paying for.
Revolution Wind will eventually be completed, whether that’s in two years or five. The question is how much we’ll pay in higher electricity costs and lost economic opportunities while politicians play games with critical infrastructure.
The last 20% is always the hardest, but it’s also where the biggest opportunities lie. Keep building. Keep learning. Keep believing. The energy revolution is coming, and it’s going to need skilled hands to finish the job.