(The Center Square) — Construction of a $5 billion wind farm off the coast of New York will resume after the Trump administration lifted a month-old stop-work order on the clean energy project.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum paused the Empire Wind 1 project last month, claiming the previous Biden administration “rushed” it through the federal environmental review process.
But late Monday, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that after negotiations with White House officials, the federal government has agreed to rescind the stop-work order and allow the project to move forward.
“I want to thank President Trump for his willingness to work with me to save the 1,500 good paying union jobs that were on the line and helping get this essential project back on track,” the Democrat said in a statement. “New York’s economic future is going to be powered by abundant, clean energy that helps our homes and businesses thrive.”
Empire Wind 1 is expected to deliver 810 megawatts of power into the state, enough to power 500,000 homes, according to Equinor, the project’s Norway-based developer.
In a statement, Equinor thanked Trump and federal officials for lifting the stop-work order and said it plans to resume construction on the project immediately.
“We appreciate the fact that construction can now resume on Empire Wind, a project which underscores our commitment to deliver energy while supporting local economies and creating jobs,” Anders Opedal, President and CEO of Equinor ASA, said in the statement.
Equinor had threatened to abandon Empire Wind unless the Trump administration lifted the stop-work order. The construction pause was costing the company up to $50 million a week. To date, the company has spent more than $2.5 billion on the project, which is about one-third complete.
Former President Joe Biden, a Democrat, aggressively pursued plans by the federal government to add at least 35 gigawatts of offshore wind in the U.S. by 2030, beginning with Vineyard Wind off the southern coast of Massachusetts. He argued that the plan will boost the nation’s clean energy industry and create jobs.
But Trump opposes the clean energy projects and campaigned on pledges to cancel existing offshore wind farms, arguing that the floating wind turbines would impact whales, birds and other wildlife. He has pushed for more reliance on natural gas and coal to meet the nation’s energy needs, declared a national emergency, and rolled back regulations.
New York is one of several Northeast states that filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration earlier this month, arguing that it doesn’t have the authority to enforce a Jan. 20 executive order that indefinitely halted federal wind-energy approvals.
