The US government has stopped the construction of the Empire 1 wind farm on New York’s coast, even though the $5 billion project has the necessary permits.
The Trump administration strongly opposes offshore wind farms. According to Donald Trump, “They are dangerous to birds and whales.”
Norwegian Equinor’s project
The Empire 1 wind farm is a project of Equinor, a Norwegian multinational energy company headquartered in Stavanger (Norway). By 2027, it should provide half a million New York families with electricity.
However, Equinor announced on Wednesday that it had received notice from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) ordering the halting of all activities.
Deme
The commercial lease for Empire Wind 1’s 810-megawatt (MW) federal offshore wind area was signed in March 2017 during the first Trump administration. The Biden administration approved it in November 2023, and construction began in 2024.
One of the project contractors is the Belgian maritime contractor Deme. Equinor awarded Deme the contract to transport and install the wind farm cables.
‘Major blow to offshore industry’
Trump previously announced that he would end the construction of such wind farms. The fact that work on Empire 1 has now effectively halted is a significant blow to the offshore industry in the US.
“Halting construction of fully permitted energy projects is the literal opposite of an energy abundance agenda,” said American Clean Power Association CEO Jason Grumet. “We encourage the administration to quickly address perceived inadequacies in the prior permit approvals so that this project can complete construction and bring much-needed power to the grid.”
New York’s economic future at stake
In response to BOEM’s stop work order, New York Governor Kathy Hochul issued the following statement: “Every single day, I’m working to make energy more affordable, reliable, and abundant in New York, and the federal government should be supporting those efforts rather than undermining them.” […]
“As Governor, I will not allow this federal overreach to stand. I will fight this every step of the way to protect union jobs, affordable energy, and New York’s economic future.”
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