Sawt Falasteen - US halts work on huge, nearly complete offshore wind farm

It was the latest in a series of orders blocking climate-friendly wind power from the administration of US President Donald Trump, who said on Thursday that "wind doesn't work."

The Revolution Wind project, which started construction last year after receiving all the necessary permits, is intended to power more than 350,000 homes in the US state of Rhode Island, according to its builder, Danish renewables firm Orsted.

Matthew Giacona, acting director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), issued a letter on Friday ordering the project to "halt all ongoing activities" to allow time for a review.

"In particular, BOEM is seeking to address concerns related to the protection of national security interests in the United States," the letter read, without elaborating.

"You may not resume activities until BOEM" has completed the review, it added.

Orsted said in a statement it is "evaluating all options to resolve the matter expeditiously," including engaging in "potential legal proceedings."

The wind farm is 80 percent complete, with 45 of its planned 65 wind turbines installed, the company said, adding it hopes to finish the project by late next year.

The entire wind power sector has faced a major challenge in the US since Trump replaced renewables-friendly Joe Biden in the White House in January.

Trump has frozen federal permitting and loans for all offshore and onshore wind projects -- and repeatedly expressed his distaste for wind power.

"It destroys everything, it looks terrible, it's a very expensive form of energy -- and we're not doing the wind, we're going back to fossil fuel," Trump said in Washington on Thursday.

As the United States has been blocking and stalling wind power, China and Europe have been breaking records in their embrace of the green energy.

Orsted, once considered a success story, said last week it is planning to raise $9.4 billion by selling shares after the US setbacks.

Empire Wind, another massive wind power project off New York being constructed by Norway's Equinor, was also temporarily halted by the Trump administration in April.

T.Ibrahim--SF-PST