Trump administration halts Equinor wind project off New York

"Last night, we received notification from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) regarding our Empire Wind 1 project, which has been under construction since 2024," Equinor told AFP in an email.

"We will be engaging directly with BOEM and the Department of the Interior to understand the issues raised about the permits we received from the authorities," he added.

Equinor then indicated in a press release that it had "taken immediate steps" to comply with this notification but "is considering legal remedies, including an appeal" of this decision.

U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum wrote on X on Wednesday that his department "is requesting BOEM to immediately halt all construction activities on the Empire Wind project until further review of information suggesting the Biden administration rushed its approval without sufficient analysis."

Equinor, for its part, points out that the federal lease for Empire Wind was signed with the US administration in 2017 - during the first term of US President Donald Trump - and has "validly obtained all necessary federal and state permits."

Shortly after returning to the White House for a second term in January, Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders halting wind power.

Among the measures announced, he imposed a freeze on operating permits and federal loans for any offshore or onshore wind projects.

"We're not going to do the wind farm thing," Trump said in January, saying they were "ugly," "blighting the landscape," and "killing whales."

The Empire Wind offshore project, to be built in two phases and located approximately 15-30 miles (24-48 kilometers) southeast of Long Island, was the first offshore wind project to provide electricity directly to New York City.

It is valued at $2,5 billion, according to Equinor.

With its 54 turbines, Empire Wind 1 is designed to provide 810 MW of energy to Brooklyn, which would power 500.000 New York City homes.

The project was expected to begin generating electricity in 2027 and is part of New York State's renewable energy strategy to meet growing energy demand amid efforts to reduce fossil fuel use, according to Equinor.