Donald Trump’s assault on offshore wind appeared to falter Monday when, barely a month after his administration ordered Norwegian energy firm Equinor to stop work immediately on its 810MW Empire Wind 1 scheme offshore New York, it suddenly reversed its order.
It came after extensive lobbying by New York State’s Democratic governor Kathy Hochul and Norwegian finance minister and former Nato Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg.
The offshore wind sector was shocked when, on 16 April, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy management (BOEM) ordered the unprecedented halt.
In a social media post, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the suspension would allow for “further review of information that suggests the Biden administration rushed through its approval without sufficient analysis”, giving no supporting details.
Equinor obtained a lease on the area off Long Island in 2017, and the US government approved its plan to build the wind farm in early 2024.
Construction started, and project financing was secured during the year.
It’s estimated Empire Wind 1 will power 500,000 homes in New York.
When the stop-work order came, the project was around 30% complete.
Equinor is reported to have said it lost $50m a week during the suspension, which means it racked up $200m in unnecessary expenses during the delay.
BOEM didn’t announce reasons for Monday’s reversal.
Shares in Equinor and Denmark’s Orsted, which is developing two wind farms in US waters, rose on the news.
‘We got it done’
New York State’s Democratic governor Kathy Hochul took some credit.
“I knew this critical project needed to move forward and have 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,” she said.
She added: “New York’s economic future is going to be powered by abundant, clean energy that helps our homes and businesses thrive. I fought to save clean energy jobs in New York – and we got it done.”
Equinor’s president and chief executive Anders Opedal thanked New York City Mayor Eric Adams, congresspeople, labour groups and other advocates.
He also thanked Norwegian prime minister Jonas Støre for his support, and finance minister Jens Stoltenberg, whom he said “raised the situation with the US administration”.
‘Surprising atack’
Dr. Kristoffer Svendsen, Assistant Dean of the Energy Law Programme at The George Washington University Law School, called the 16 April stop-work order “a targeted attack on offshore wind in the US”.
Svendsen wrote to GCR: “The administration’s attack on offshore wind generally is not surprising, but attacking a fully permitted and fully financed project in the early stages of physical construction, that will provide enough electricity to supply 500,000 homes in New York City, is surprising.”
Responding to Monday’s reversal, he told GCR that the manoeuvre would hurt confidence in the sector for the rest of the president’s term.
“I would be very surprised if any developer would disregard this show of willingness to intervene in a project so dramatically,” he said.
“Equinor said they lost $50m a week as a result of the stop order. I am also sure the supply industry has seen the writing on the wall – in other words, that there is a huge risk associated with offshore wind investments in the US.”
He added: “I do hope the administration realised the lack of legal grounds it had.”
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