Design and Construction Report staff writer
New York Governor Kathy Hochul is vowing to fight the Trump administration’s order to halt construction on a major offshore wind project to power more than 500,000 New York homes.
“Permits secured. Shovels in the ground. 1,000 union workers earning a paycheck,” Hochul said. “Now the federal government wants to kill Empire Wind 1, putting jobs, affordable energy, and our economic future at risk.
“I’m going to fight them every step of the way.”
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to stop work on Wednesday at on Empire Wind, a fully-permitted project, arguing approvals were rushed.
“On day one, (Trump) called for comprehensive reviews of federal wind projects and wind leasing, and at Interior, we are doing our part to make sure these instructions are followed,” Burgum wrote on X, stating the project need further review.
Norwegian company Equinor received the federal lease for the Empire Wind site in 2017. BOEM approved construction in February 2024 and work began a few months later.
Protestors joined Rep. Dan Goldman to oppose the work stoppage.
“Trump’s vindictive stop work order for a $1B offshore wind project in New York won’t just deny 1,500 union jobs, billions of investment, and clean electricity for 500k homes– it also increases our reliance on foreign oil,” Goldman said in a statement. “We must stand up for our planet, country, and workers.”
On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order temporarily stopping offshore wind lease sales in federal waters and pausing new approvals, permits and loans for wind projects.
Last month, he 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 yet started.
In a statement, Equinor officials said it received a notification from BOEM and it will engage directly with the agency and the Interior Department to understand the questions raised about the permits.
The project, which is located southeast of Long Island, New York.
The first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, a 12-turbine wind farm called South Fork Wind 35 miles east of Montauk Point, was completed last year.
