New York's Offshore Wind Project Breezes Back to Life After Trump-Imposed Halt
A US District Court ruling has granted a preliminary injunction, allowing Norwegian energy giant Equinor to resume construction on its Empire 1 offshore wind project, which had been put on hold by the Trump administration last year. The decision comes after Equinor filed a lawsuit against the US Department of the Interior over the halted project.
The stop work order issued by the Trump administration cited unspecified safety and national security concerns, but the government's motives remain unclear. In fact, the White House recently described wind energy as "the scam of the century," sparking widespread criticism from industry stakeholders and environmental advocates.
Despite this recent setback, Equinor has vowed to focus on safely restarting construction activities for the Empire 1 project, which was set to provide power next year with 54 turbines in the Atlantic Ocean. The New York attorney general's office had previously filed a lawsuit against the halt, labeling it "arbitrary and capricious."
The decision comes as two major offshore wind projects, Empire 1 and Sunrise, remain impacted by the halt. Equinor's lawsuit will proceed, while Orsted, which operates the Sunrise project, is seeking a preliminary injunction of its own.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has long been an outspoken critic of the Trump administration's actions on wind energy, calling them "designed to do nothing other than hurt workers, hurt our states, hurt our economy and hurt our energy future."
Industry experts say the halt poses significant risks to thousands of union workers employed by the two projects. Billions of private and public dollars are also at stake, as the construction and revitalization of local infrastructure such as ports in Staten Island and South Brooklyn hang in the balance.
While this latest development provides a temporary reprieve for Equinor's project, experts caution that more steps could be taken to disrupt or delay its completion. As one advocate noted, even an ultimate victory against the administration's freeze may not prevent further action from being taken.
A US District Court ruling has granted a preliminary injunction, allowing Norwegian energy giant Equinor to resume construction on its Empire 1 offshore wind project, which had been put on hold by the Trump administration last year. The decision comes after Equinor filed a lawsuit against the US Department of the Interior over the halted project.
The stop work order issued by the Trump administration cited unspecified safety and national security concerns, but the government's motives remain unclear. In fact, the White House recently described wind energy as "the scam of the century," sparking widespread criticism from industry stakeholders and environmental advocates.
Despite this recent setback, Equinor has vowed to focus on safely restarting construction activities for the Empire 1 project, which was set to provide power next year with 54 turbines in the Atlantic Ocean. The New York attorney general's office had previously filed a lawsuit against the halt, labeling it "arbitrary and capricious."
The decision comes as two major offshore wind projects, Empire 1 and Sunrise, remain impacted by the halt. Equinor's lawsuit will proceed, while Orsted, which operates the Sunrise project, is seeking a preliminary injunction of its own.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has long been an outspoken critic of the Trump administration's actions on wind energy, calling them "designed to do nothing other than hurt workers, hurt our states, hurt our economy and hurt our energy future."
Industry experts say the halt poses significant risks to thousands of union workers employed by the two projects. Billions of private and public dollars are also at stake, as the construction and revitalization of local infrastructure such as ports in Staten Island and South Brooklyn hang in the balance.
While this latest development provides a temporary reprieve for Equinor's project, experts caution that more steps could be taken to disrupt or delay its completion. As one advocate noted, even an ultimate victory against the administration's freeze may not prevent further action from being taken.
...I mean, it's about time those Trump people got called out for their BS over wind energy. The whole "scam of the century" comment was just ridiculous 
...Kathy Hochul is like the only one who seems to be on top of things around here. But you never know if this is really going to stick or if someone's gonna swoop in and mess it up 
. Those union workers are counting on a stable future, so fingers crossed this project actually gets done soon 
...Still can't shake the feeling that something fishy went down during those halts 
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like literally the trump admin just halted it for no reason and now equinor's trying to get back to work 
but it's not even about the environment or anything, it's all about workers & dollars 
i mean those union workers are counting on this project to stay afloat 
and billions of private $$$ are at stake too 
governor hochul is so right btw to call out the trump admin for being so hostile towards wind energy 
and now we can move forward with projects that'll create jobs & reduce carbon emissions 
cant wait to see these offshore wind farms come online & make a real difference for the planet 
. First, Trump puts a halt on it, citing some vague safety concerns, and now Equinor is breathing a sigh of relief after a court ruling says they can start construction again 
. I mean, what even was the point of that stop work order? Just to stir up drama and create more uncertainty?
. She's right, it's all about hurting workers and stifling innovation. The fact that thousands of people are employed by these projects and billions of dollars are at stake is just staggering.
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I'm so relieved they're finally allowed to get back on track with this huge offshore wind project! 54 turbines in the Atlantic Ocean are gonna be a game-changer for clean energy 
Now let's just hope they can get back on schedule and make this project happen ASAP 
This is what happens when you let politics get in the way of progress 
. I'm glad Equinor is pushing back against this nonsense 
, but it's still gonna be a long time before we see real change 
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after Trump administration puts halt on it last year... like wot was up wit dat?! 
industry stakeholders & environmental advocates were so against it cuz it was all about safety & national security 
thousands of union workers are employed by these projects so dis halt wasnt just a minor setback... its like life or death situation for them
Billions of dollars at stake & all dat infrastructure work... i feel 4 Equinor & Orsted right now 
And now it's like Equinor is stuck playing catch-up, while Orsted is still trying to get their own project up and running... 
I'm just hoping they can get this back on track without too much more drama 
. I mean, come on, "the scam of the century"?! That's just rich coming from the White House 
! Industry experts are right though, thousands of union workers are counting on these projects to get off the ground 
️. Fingers crossed Equinor can get back to work and bring some real progress to this whole wind energy thing 
. And what's with all these halt-and-restart things? Can't we just make up our minds about clean energy already? 
. The fact that Equinor is taking steps to ensure safe construction activities shows they're committed to making this happen 
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