Offshore wind farms take shape along Rhode Island's coast, even as Trump wants to stop them

OFF THE COAST OF RHODE ISLAND (AP) — Offshore wind turbines roughly three times the height of the Statue of Liberty were spinning far off the coast of Rhode Island on Thursday, sending clean electricity to the region.

Wind farms are taking shape and operating along the East Coast, even as President Donald Trump seeks to end the U.S. offshore wind industry. He often talks about his hatred of wind power and calls turbines ugly.

The Associated Press traveled roughly 100 miles (161 kilometers) and saw three of the five wind farms in the area. Two of the five are fully operational, two are nearly done, and one is about halfway built.

The first turbines from the Revolution Wind project were clearly visible from about 5 nautical miles away, and can be seen from farther away on clear days. They stretched across the horizon, massive structures evenly spaced in rows, some spinning in the light winds.

The enormity of the turbines was evident from even a mile out.

Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind are offshore wind projects being built to power about 1 million homes across Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York.

It took about an hour and a half to reach the Revolution Wind site, more than 15 miles (24 kilometers) south of the Rhode Island coast.

Some of the blades started to turn as the early morning winds picked up. Workers were inside the central hub of the wind farm, a large gray substation.

Revolution Wind is more than 90% complete. It recently began delivering power to New England’s grid, and it’s on track to be completed this year.

Nearby at Sunrise Wind, construction is nearly 50% complete. Orsted is developing both projects. Sunrise Wind is a mix of installed turbines and empty yellow foundations that still await their towers and blades. A vessel with giant cranes to install the offshore wind components was parked nearby.

The tip of a spinning turbine appeared to touch the clouds.

The first large U.S. offshore wind farm to open, South Fork Wind, borders the Revolution Wind site.

Now in its second year of operating commercially, its 12 turbines can send enough power to New York for more than 70,000 homes.

A ship that serves as a floating home base for technicians working on wind farms was next to one of the turbines on Thursday. The technicians had used the ship's gangway to walk onto the turbine and stood at its base, or foundation.

When South Fork opened in 2024, Biden administration officials said it was just the beginning — major new wind farms would dot U.S. coastlines to confront climate change, create jobs and accelerate the nation’s transition to clean energy.

Less than a year later, Trump returned to office and ordered a temporary halt to leasing and permitting for wind energy projects. His administration has paused work wind farms under construction, arranged a $1 billion payout to a French energy company to walk away from U.S. offshore wind development and added an extra layer of review for wind and solar projects. Federal judges have struck down some of his orders blocking wind energy development, including a ruling Tuesday stopping the administration from implementing some of the policies slowing the development of clean energy.

At the same time wind energy is being held back, the demand for electricity in the United States is skyrocketing and there are limited options in land-constrained coastal states for new, large energy projects in the next few years, which drives up utility bills, said Hillary Bright, executive director of the offshore wind advocacy group Turn Forward.

“These energy policies are really hitting people at home, in their pocketbooks,” she said. “Offshore wind ultimately can be a part of that solution.”

The closest site to the coast is the Block Island Wind Farm. It's in state waters near Block Island, Rhode Island.

These five turbines began spinning in 2016, making this the first offshore wind farm in the United States. Its turbines are shorter than those installed at successive projects, but still look enormous up close. They replaced polluting diesel generators that were powering Block Island.

Construction finished on Vineyard Wind in March. It was the first wind farm to reach this stage during Trump’s time in office.

It is expected to reach full operations in the coming months, to power over 400,000 Massachusetts homes and businesses.

There are two other major U.S. offshore wind farms under construction: a New York offshore wind project, Empire Wind, and a Virginia offshore wind project, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind.

“This is a major commercial industry in the United States of America," Jason Grumet, CEO of the American Clean Power Association, said in an interview. “Whether the president is enthusiastic about it or not, we have massive energy projects that are either bringing power to the grid or near completion.”

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A bird flies near turbines at Revolution Wind offshore wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island, Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Turbine bases are visible at Sunrise Wind offshore wind farm that is under construction off the coast of Montauk Point, New York, Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

A vessel is visible near Sunrise Wind offshore wind farm that is under construction off the coast of Montauk Point, New York, Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Turbines operate at South Fork Wind offshore wind farm off the coast of Block Island, R.I., Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

People work on a turbine at South Fork Wind offshore wind farm off the coast of Block Island, R.I., Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

People work on a turbine near an Orsted boat at South Fork Wind offshore wind farm off the coast of Block Island, R.I., Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

A wind turbine base is visible at Sunrise Wind offshore wind farm that is under construction off the coast of Montauk Point, New York, Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Turbines operate at South Fork Wind offshore wind farm off the coast of Block Island, R.I., Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

The Revolution Wind command center or substation for the offshore wind farm is visible off the coast of Rhode Island, Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Turbines are visible at Sunrise Wind offshore wind farm that is under construction off the coast of Montauk Point, New York, Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

DETROIT (AP) — The state of Michigan was cleared of liability Thursday in a disastrous 2020 dam failure that flooded communities, destroyed more than 100 homes and drained a popular lake.

Court of Claims Judge James Redford acknowledged the “real and lasting damages” of the Edenville Dam failure. But he said days of relentless rain and an unprecedented 100-year flood triggered the calamity in the Midland area, not the state-authorized level of Wixom Lake.

Redford cited experts who said a lower lake level before the disaster was unlikely to have prevented the catastrophe.

“This does not mean that what plaintiffs suffered and continue to suffer is not an immensely difficult and heavy burden,” the judge said in a 100-page opinion that followed a January trial in Grand Rapids.

Lawyers representing thousands of people sued the state, claiming decisions by environmental regulators contributed to the dam collapse and ruined property values and their enjoyment of Wixom Lake, 150 miles (241 kilometers) northwest of Detroit.

If Redford had ruled in favor of property owners, the case would have moved next to financial recovery.

“It's very disappointing. I know our clients are devastated,” attorney Ven Johnson said. “That's why God created appellate courts.”

The judge said the dam failure could not be likened, as lawyers for the plaintiffs argued, to the 2014-2015 Flint water crisis in which key decisions by the state caused lead to leach from oil pipes and spoil the system.

The privately owned dam on the Tittabawassee River produced hydroelectricity until a federal license was revoked in 2018. A reservoir behind the dam is known as Wixom Lake. The dam was in the process of being turned over to area residents when the failure occurred, releasing a torrent that also overtopped the downstream Sanford Dam and flooded the city of Midland.

The lake rose more than 5 feet (1.5 meters) above its normal level and 3 feet (0.9 meters) higher than the highest level recorded in 1929. The east side of the dam's soil embankment was overwhelmed and became unstable. Since the failure, Wixom Lake is being slowly restored.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission asked experts to study what happened at the Edenville and Sanford dams. The 2022 report said failure was “foreseeable and preventable” but could not be “attributed to any one individual, group or organization.”

The former owner, Boyce Hydro, filed for bankruptcy protection after the disaster. In 2023, a federal judge granted the state’s request for a $120 million judgment against Lee Mueller, who controlled Boyce Hydro, for damage to fisheries and the ecosystem for mussels. But he, too, filed for bankruptcy protection.

“The Edenville Dam failure was tragic, and while the evidence has always shown the state was not responsible, we have taken decisive action against those who were,” Attorney General Dana Nessel said Thursday.

FILE - Water rushes through the Edenville Dam, May 19, 2020, in Edenville, Mich. (Katy Kildee/Midland Daily News via AP, File)