The Trump administration on Wednesday ordered a stop to construction of a major offshore wind project to power more than 500,000 New York homes, the latest action against the industry. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to halt construction on Empire Wind, a fully permitted project. He said it needs further review because it appears the Biden administration rushed the approval, the AP reports. The Norwegian company Equinor is building Empire Wind and finalized the federal lease in March 2017, early in President Trump's first term. The bureau approved the construction and operations plan in February 2024, and construction began that year.
Trump has been hostile to renewable energy, particularly offshore wind. On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order temporarily halting offshore wind lease sales in federal waters and pausing the issuance of approvals, permits, and loans for all wind projects. Last month, the administration revoked the Clean Air Permit for an offshore wind project off the coast of New Jersey, Atlantic Shores. Construction on that wind farm had not begun. Equinor said Wednesday that it will engage directly with the agency and the Interior Department to understand the questions raised about the permits for the project, located southeast of Long Island, New York.
While Trump is focused on energy abundance, the American Clean Power industry association said that halting construction of fully permitted energy projects is the "literal opposite" of that agenda and that it sends a "chilling signal" to all energy companies. Climate Jobs New York, a coalition of labor unions, said New York needs offshore wind and other clean energy projects to address rising energy costs and create jobs. "It is out of touch to suggest that killing good jobs and energy sources is a good idea when working New Yorkers are struggling with rising costs of living and our grid needs stability," the coalition said in a statement. The US can't be energy independent without offshore wind, it added.
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