The Norwegian developer Energy Equinor says he has suspended the construction of his $ 5 million $ 5 million energy project in New York in response to a Trump administration warning that he directed to stop the work waiting for a new review.
Empire Wind, which was allowed last year, plans to have 54 turbines in a place of 80,000 hectares located 15-30 miles southeast of Long Island. With a capacity of 810 MW, it would feed up to 500,000 homes through underwater cables that connect to a substation to Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
Equinor says the value of the project’s raw book reached about $ 2.5 billion to March 31.
Although administration officials have indicated that they expect to accelerate many projects by reducing regulatory reviews and the speed of permits, United States Interior Secretary Doug Burgum wrote on social networks that the review is necessary due to “information that suggests that the Biden administration was rushed through their approval without sufficient analysis”. President Donald Trump, who stated the opponent’s rhetoric of Offshore Wind, issued an executive order in January by directing an additional review of approved projects.
The decision to stop the work was from the Department of the Interior in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, added Burgum.
The construction by Skanska began at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal in June 2024 after Empire received all the necessary state and federal permits. Off -sea work was scheduled to begin this year. The wind farm was expected to begin to deliver energy by the end of 2026 and would be completely operational in 2027.
Equinor said in a statement that he complies with the order, but he is also “related to the relevant authorities to clarify this topic and are studying legal remedies, including appealing the order”. New York Governor Kathy Hochul criticized the stop order, calling it “federal overcoming” in a statement.
“I will fight in all steps of the way to protect the union jobs, the affordable energy and the economic future of New York,” said Hochul.
Equinor finished his lease for Empire Wind in 2017 during the first Trump administration. It is developing the project under a contract with the Energy Research and Development Authority of the New York State (Nyserda). Doreen Harris, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nyserda, said in a statement that the order to stop the work “goes against the prioritization of the Trump administration of independent and locally produced, and shows a complete disregard for an economic power station once in generation such as wind energy out of the sea.”
The movement sends a cooling signal to anyone investing in clean energy in the United States, added Harris. The same day that Equinor confirmed the pause of work in Empire Wind, E2, a group that promotes environmentally sustainable economic policies, said that he found that 16 net energy projects with a combined cost of $ 8 billion were abandoned only in the first three months of this year.
“Clean energy companies still want to invest in America, but uncertainty about Trump’s administration policies and the future of critical credits on net energy tax are clearly weighing,” said Michael Timberlake, E2 communications director, in a statement. “If this uncertainty of the self-inflicted and unnecessary market continues, we will almost certainly see more projects stopped, more construction stopped and disappear more job opportunities.”
