The whiplash resulting from policies announced and quickly reversed by the Trump administration continued this week with the surprise announcement that construction of the Empire Wind 1 offshore wind farm, which was halted last month by a stop-work order issued by the secretary of the Department of the Interior, could resume.
Equinor, the Norwegian company that is constructing the 80,000-acre, 816-megawatt wind farm in the New York Bight, announced on Monday that the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management informed the company that the stop-work order issued on April 16 has been lifted, allowing construction to resume.
“This project delivers on the energy ambitions shared by the United States and New York by providing a vital new source of power to the region,” Molly Morris, president of Equinor Wind USA, said in a statement. “Empire Wind brings supply chain investments in states across the nation, including New York, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Texas, and South Carolina.”
The company is to conduct an updated assessment of the project economics, and plans “to be able to execute planned activities in the offshore installation window in 2025 and reach its planned commercial operation date in 2027,” according to Equinor’s statement. The project, which is expected to provide electricity sufficient to power half a million New York City residences, is more than 30 percent complete, according to Equinor.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, who last month vowed to “not allow this federal overreach to stand,” issued a statement on Monday night in which she said she had “spent weeks pushing the federal government to rescind the stop-work order to allow the workers to return and ensure this important source of renewable power could come to fruition.”
“After countless conversations with Equinor and White House officials, bringing labor and business to the table to emphasize the importance of this project, I’m pleased that President Trump and Secretary [Doug] Burgum have agreed to lift the stop-work order and allow this project to move forward,” the governor said. She added, however, that the state will “work with the administration and private entities” on new energy projects, leading to speculation that they may be fossil fuel-based, the president’s oft-stated preference.
The state’s 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act requires a transition to renewable energy, aiming for 70 percent of electricity to come from renewable sources by 2030 and 100-percent zero-emission electricity by 2040. It is not on track to meet those targets, and the loss of Empire Wind 1 would have further hampered the goal set forth in the act.
Nonetheless, “This is such a win,” said Melissa Parrott, executive director of Renewable Energy Long Island, “and we’re so grateful for the support from Governor Hochul and Doreen Harris,” the president and chief executive officer of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, “for never giving up and consistently negotiating with President Trump’s administration. Obviously, climate change is the real issue here, but we can’t forget that offshore wind brings jobs to our local economy.”
“Offshore wind is not only an important industry for our state’s economy,” Alicia Gene Artessa, director of the New York Offshore Wind Alliance, said in a statement provided to The Star, “it will also secure New York’s grid and provide a critical energy source to millions of homes.” Lifting the stop-work order saved more than 1,000 union jobs, she said.
The stop-work order followed an executive order issued by the president on Jan. 20, the day he took office, that “temporarily prevents consideration of any area in the [outer continental shelf] for any new or renewed wind energy leasing for the purposes of generation of electricity or any other such use derived from the use of wind.” It does not apply to leasing related to the extraction of oil, gas, or minerals.
The president is concurrently canceling funding for environmental protections and boosting use of fossil fuels, including coal, considered the dirtiest form of energy because of the greenhouse gases, mercury, and particulate matter emitted when it is burned. The president misrepresented its safety and use in announcing four executive orders aimed at boosting the mining of coal, which has been declining for decades. He has disparaged wind energy for years, falsely asserting that the noise emanating from wind turbines causes cancer in humans and that offshore wind farms kill whales.
“One area we can’t lose track of is the misinformation campaigns out there with offshore wind,” Ms. Parrott said. “Wind is good. It’s clean. It’s better for everyone’s all-around health and well-being. Do your own fact-finding.”
Onshore construction of the fully permitted, 54-turbine Empire Wind 1 began a year ago with work on its transmission infrastructure and the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal. Offshore construction began in July, and installation of the wind turbine generators was to begin, prior to the issuance of the stop-work order, in September.
