Equinor said April 17 that it will cease construction of its massive Empire Wind project off the coast of New York and that it is considering taking legal action after the Trump administration ordered the project to be halted pending further review.
The Trump administration order is a major escalation of the president’s war against the wind energy industry now that it is blocking a fully permitted project that had already begun construction activities both onshore and off.
This is the same Trump administration that claims to expedite permitting for energy infrastructure projects and to promote “American energy dominance”—but apparently not for wind power. President Donald Trump has always touted a personal disdain for wind farms and their turbines, or “windmills” as he calls them.
“Empire is engaging with relevant authorities to clarify this matter and is considering its legal remedies, including appealing the order,” Equinor said in a statement, adding the project “has validly secured all necessary federal and state permits and is currently under construction.”
The Empire Wind 1 project by Norway-based Equinor starts more than 15 miles south of Long Island and would consist of 54 huge wind turbines to power the equivalent of 500,000 New York homes. A second planned Empire Wind 2 project is even larger. Equinor closed its financing for the more than $3 billion Empire Wind 1 project at the end of 2024.
Onshore construction at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal began last year. Equinor quietly began offshore construction work in early April on rock layer installation on the seabed to help stabilize the turbine foundations and protect against erosion.
The wind wars blew up late on April 16 when Trump’s Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, posted on social media he was directing Empire Wind to “immediately halt all construction activities … until further review of information that suggests the Biden administration rushed through its approval without sufficient analysis.”
Burgum cited Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order to review leasing and permitting practices for wind projects. But that executive order was not expected to apply to projects that were already permitted and underway.
Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement she “will not allow this federal overreach to stand.”
“This fully federally permitted project has already put shovels in the ground before the president’s executive orders—it’s exactly the type of bipartisan energy solution we should be working on,” Hochul said. “I will fight this every step of the way to protect union jobs, affordable energy, and New York’s economic future.”
A rapid escalation
The renewed fight against Empire Wind seemingly picked up steam in late March when U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., and staunch wind opponent, wrote Burgum a letter citing the “alarming” development of construction activities and the “underhanded rush” in which he claimed the project was approved, asking that the government intervene.
Offshore wind opponents have cited negative impacts to fisheries and marine life, as well as Smith’s concerns the turbines could “blind” military radar operations, although those concerns were largely debunked during the permitting process.
Empire Wind was first leased back in 2017 during Trump’s first year as president—back when Equinor was still named Statoil—and fully permitted in 2024 under Joe Biden. Completion was slated for 2027 when it would become the first project to provide offshore wind energy directly to New York City.
U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., said in a statement the administration’s actions are dangerous, shortsighted, and the opposite of “America first.”
“President Trump’s irrational decision decreases American energy independence and dominance while eliminating thousands of union jobs, undermining our national security, and ceding the industry to China,” Goldman said. “As energy demand increases, we must aggressively pursue additional sources of energy to oil and gas, whose prices are set by foreign adversaries.”
Likewise, American Clean Power Association CEO Jason Grumet said halting Empire Wind is the “literal opposite of an energy abundance agenda.”
“With skyrocketing energy demand and increasing consumer prices, we need streamlined permitting for all domestic energy resources,” Grumet said in a statement. “Doubling back to reconsider permits after projects are under construction sends a chilling signal to all energy investment.”
