Updated 1:05 pm
Over a month after the Trump administration ordered a fully permitted offshore wind project to halt construction, the order has been lifted.
Equinor announced on Monday evening that construction for its Empire Wind project, expected to provide renewable energy for 500,000 homes in New York, can resume construction after the stop-work order, issued last month, was lifted by the Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management (BOEM).
The company stated that the work order was lifted “following dialogue with regulators and federal, state, and city officials.” Anders Opedal, president and CEO of Equinor ASA, also said in a release that it received “support at a critical time” from top Norwegian officials, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and finance minister Jens Stoltenberg. Norway owns a 67 percent stake in Equinor.
Exactly why the order was lifted remains vague; Interior Department spokesperson J. Elizabeth Peace merely confirmed that BOEM “lifted the pause on the Empire Wind project while its review continues.”
The flurry of activity comes with the Trump administration’s recent hostility toward the offshore wind industry. Last month, BOEM ordered the Empire Wind project to halt all construction activities until further review was conducted. Prior to the order being issued, U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum suggested on an X post that the Biden administration rushed through its approval of the project without sufficient analysis. While opponents of offshore wind celebrated the decision, proponents of the industry sounded alarms that other fully permitted projects, like Vineyard Wind, could also be targeted. Other projects off the Vineyard’s coast are questionable to continue, including SouthCoast Wind, which hit a four-year pause following Trump’s election.
Offshore wind advocates are celebrating the most recent decision reversal.
“As we face the urgent need for clean, affordable energy, continuing offshore wind projects like Empire Wind is essential,” Kate Sinding Daly, Conservation Law Foundation senior vice president for law and policy, said in a statement. “This project supports thousands of American jobs, and will power 500,000 New York homes, proving that offshore wind can replace polluting fossil fuels, provide stable energy prices, and produce the clean power we need right here at home. With vast wind energy potential off the coast of New England, we can’t afford to lock ourselves into more fossil fuel dependence if we want to build a more resilient energy future.”
Equinor stated in the release that it will be performing an “updated assessment of the project economics in the second quarter,” and will advance plans to reach its “commercial operation date in 2027.” According to the company, the project is more than 30 percent complete.
Updated with a comment from the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Ocean city Maryland mayor files lawsuit to protect fisherman rights, whales and citizens.
Please read the attached link to learn why.
https://www.easternshoreundercover.com/news2/ocean-city-mayor-rick-meehan-statement-on-the-us-wind-$20-million-mou-to-support-local-fisherman.htm
This was resumed when Governor Kathy Hochul agreed to allow a natural gas pipeline project to move forward. It’s all quid pro quo all the time.
Imagine that–trump changing his mind about something that was clearly illegal to begin with. I think that is referred to as “flip flopping”. But the more serious question is what did this foreign company “gift” him for this about face ?
DOGE
We need all the electricity we can get to Make America Great Again.
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In 2024, the United States had approximately 147 million homes, according to Statista. This amounts to approximately 0.34 percent of U.S. homes. However, it is not true that offshore wind power is the only source of power for that tiny percentage. Fossil fuels must be used about 1/3 of the time, so it is not an accurate number. In fact, all statistical data indicate that all efforts to solve our energy issues have not reduced the ever-increasing rise in temperatures. There are numerous other issues, but what is true is that many people will earn a lot of money from offshore wind. This seems to be the most important issue.
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The United Nations projects that the world population will reach 9 billion people in 2037 and 10 billion in 2058. Therefore, 2 billion more people will be added to the global population between 2037 and 2058, according to the Population Connection. Willl offshore wind keep up with construction?
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