Based on and excerpted from an article by Beege Welborn at HotAir
With a clear grasp of both the policy mechanics and the public frustration behind them, Welborn outlines a story that encapsulates much of what’s wrong with our current approach to green energy development.
The Empire Wind Scheme
Empire Wind 1, pushed by Norwegian energy firm Equinor with the full backing of New York’s Governor Kathy Hochul and the Biden administration, was intended to be a showcase for offshore wind. Instead, it showcased something else entirely: how to push through a $3 billion project with double the national average energy costs and virtually no comprehensive review.
Welborn lays it out clearly:
“What was not a bargain were the rates the company locked in with the state of NY before a single survey had been done—they were going to be twice the national average.”
https://hotair.com/tree-hugging-sister/2025/04/17/burgum-takes-the-wind-out-of-the-empire-states-plans-n3801885#google_vignette
From environmental impacts to national security risks to economic irrationality, Empire Wind had it all—yet the project barreled ahead.
Executive Action and Bureaucratic Course Correction
President Trump’s January 20 executive order called for a pause and reassessment of offshore wind projects—a direct response to the rushed approvals and dubious oversight seen under the previous administration.
Equinor, apparently eager to get ahead of that review, jumped the gun. They began construction efforts offshore, quietly deploying ships and robotic equipment to lay the groundwork for their turbine bases.
New Jersey Congressmen Jeff Drew and Chris Smith were outraged at Equinor’s actions in the face of President Trump’s pretty succinct Executive Order, which paused approvals for new farms until their original initial review process could be thoroughly reexamined.
https://hotair.com/tree-hugging-sister/2025/04/17/burgum-takes-the-wind-out-of-the-empire-states-plans-n3801885#google_vignette
“Out of nowhere, a bell suddenly rang, and Equinor’s time was up.”
https://hotair.com/tree-hugging-sister/2025/04/17/burgum-takes-the-wind-out-of-the-empire-states-plans-n3801885#google_vignette
That bell came in the form of Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, who ordered an immediate halt to all Empire Wind construction. Burgum cited deficiencies in the permitting process and a lack of consultation among federal agencies, calling the Biden-era greenlight “rushed” and analytically insufficient.
The Trump administration is halting construction of a massive offshore wind project being built in federal waters off the coast of New York and ordering a sprawling review of existing offshore wind permits, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on Wednesday to order foreign energy developer Equinor to cease all construction activities on its Empire Wind project, according to a memorandum obtained by the Free Beacon. Burgum said the Biden administration green-lit permits for the project and ultimately approved it without conducting proper analysis.
“Approval for the project was rushed through by the prior administration without sufficient analysis or consultation among the relevant agencies as relates to the potential effects from the project,” Burgum wrote. He said the halt on Empire Wind will be in effect indefinitely until further review is completed to “address these serious deficiencies.”
Burgum additionally ordered Interior Department staff to continue a review of federal wind permitting practices related to both existing and pending permits and approvals.
A Coalition of Common Sense
The resistance to Empire Wind wasn’t isolated to a few concerned locals. It was a broad coalition—commercial fishermen, legal advocates, radar and defense experts, and elected officials—who consistently raised concerns about environmental harm, economic waste, and procedural shortcuts.
Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey summed up the concern:
“It’s an alarming development… NEPA review process under the Biden Administration… was completely inadequate.”
https://hotair.com/tree-hugging-sister/2025/04/17/burgum-takes-the-wind-out-of-the-empire-states-plans-n3801885#google_vignette
And Rep. Jeff Van Drew called the project’s halt “a big offshore wind victory,” citing his collaboration with the Trump administration to bring these issues to light.
While climate cultists and industry advocates went into delicious swoons of doom and despair.
https://hotair.com/tree-hugging-sister/2025/04/17/burgum-takes-the-wind-out-of-the-empire-states-plans-n3801885#google_vignette
The Empire Wind saga is a reminder of why process matters. Energy infrastructure—particularly projects with national security, environmental, and economic implications—cannot be waved through without scrutiny. Enthusiasm for projects should never override the need for transparency, due diligence, and cost-benefit analysis.
Thanks to the Trump administration’s intervention and the vigilance of critics across the spectrum, the brakes have been applied to a project that had all the signs of a bureaucratic runaway train.
And thanks to journalists like Beege Welborn, the public is better informed about what’s really going on behind the green curtain.
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Tell them if they don’t stop they’ll be required to restore the ocean floor to it’s original pre construction condition… Aka…remove every stone they placed at their own expense.
I don’t understand why no-one in authority is explaining to the MSM that these things are to be stopped because they are a waste of money due to the fact that CO2 isn’t dangerous and in fact we need more of it.
No one can tell MSM anything. Just ask MSM.
Much the same as everything on the internet is true. It says so on the internet.
Get yourself written into the Constitution like they have, and they might listen to you. Otherwise inherit several billion dollars to “manage” a large MSM outlet for fun and profit.
You can always tell the MSM, you just can’t tell them much that sinks in. They are in love with the narrative.
This was a worthy emergency action but two other construction projects are in progress. Vineyard is installing blades and Revolution is mounting turbines. Plus Dominion is about to resume pile driving on its huge 2,600 MW project on May 1. Here’s hoping Burgum stops them.
Or the marines will. 🙂
Maybe the Coast Guard. Love to see the Missouri show up.
USS New Jersey and Wisconsin are closer…..
If we could get Elon to buy all the windmills, the crazy left loonies would have them torn down in a week.
That is more than just funny. It’s true.
About time.
Appreciate the sentiment, but it is a tad late. Would have been better had the stones not been dropped.
Better late than never.
the hammer is coming down on much more than offshore wind.
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/DOGE-Hands-US-DOE-The-Budget-Axe-To-Slash-10B-in-Clean-Projects.html
This will keep the judges busy, and the media will become all entangled in their responses to all the different judges that need recognition.
Lawyers will get richer and richer.
Yes, the lawyers are cleaning up right now. Litigation all over the place.
I heard someone claiming that new laws restricting the Lower Courts could be included in a reconciliation bill that would only need a majority vote, and could bypass the 60-vote requirement in the U.S. Senate.
Get it while you can, Radical Leftwing Judges. Your time to put nationwide injunctions on the Executive Branch is running out.
I want reparations for damage done to the environment by NY Dems, biased regulators with predetermined outcomes, and contractors.
Gee, I guess NY Dems will have to search for a 4x more costly alternative to make up for the loss of a 3x more costly project. Maybe a “Superstorm Sandy” chasing mobile wind system with supertanker storage battery attendant ship will do the trick. Sorry to give them ideas like that, there might be lobbyists lining up with that idea and Party donations to lure dear leaders.
“supertanker storage battery attendant ship”
That might be a good idea: Keep your battery storage on a ship. If it catches fire, you can sink the ship.
I guess you would have to be on the coast to make use of this.
Not that I’m promoting battery storage. I think it is a losing proposition considering what we have to work with. And you only need it for windmills and industrial solar, and I hate windmills and Industrial solar. 🙂
Think about it, remove government subsidies, preferences and mandates and no one would have to tell them to halt construction because it never would have started. Wind and solar are so stupid!
That’s right. No taxpayer subsidies = no windmills and industrial solar.
I encourage the Trump Administration to defund the UN and its climate wasteful spending.
Fixe iit for ya.
Or even
Now let’s have thorough review of the thinking behind Biden’s huge giveaway of public lands in the West for wind/solar/transmission lines. NEPA was not followed and the projects threaten all manner of wildlife. No carbon saved as if that is a meaningful benefit.
The trouble with you people is you can’t contextualise the care and concern for your welfare always exhibited by the omniscient ones-
RoRo Ship Delphine Catches Fire with 60 EVs Onboard
Aussie dad slapped with $700 fine for son’s illegal road act: ‘Not a toy’
Trust them they’re from the Gummint and they’re here to help keep you safe from things that might go bump in the night.
I feel some sympathy for the decision from a common sense perspective. However, I cannot appreciate the legal merits of this decision, it basically assumes the permits were approved contrary to the law? Generally revoking permits after being issued is a last resort action of the administration unless the applicants should have been awarer that the activties permited were in violation of the laws? And to what extent are the beneficiaries of the permits compensated for their losses: parties should be able to rely on gouvernment commitments?
“it basically assumes the permits were approved contrary to the law?”
That seems to be it, yes.
Charge them with illegal dumping.
News from the front:
https://www.offshorewind.biz/2025/04/17/new-york-governor-i-will-not-allow-this-federal-overreach-to-stand/
Best of luck.
Europe Attempts to Entangle US with Expensive Offshore Windmills that Produce Expensive Electricity
Net zero by 2050 Euro elites tried to entangle the US, with help of the unpatriotic, leftist Biden clique, into going down the black hole of 30,000 MW by 2030 of expensive, highly-subsidized, weather-dependent, grid-disturbing offshore windmill systems, which would need expensive, highly subsidized, short-lived, battery systems for grid support.
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The windmills would have produced electricity at about 15 c/kWh, about 2.5 times greater than from domestic US gas, coal, nuclear, hydro plants, which would have made the US even less competitive in world markets.
Any tariffs would greatly increase turnkey capital costs/MW and electricity costs/ kWh.
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Almost the entire supply of the projects would be designed and made in Europe, then transported across the Atlantic Ocean by European specialized ships, then unloaded at new, $500-million storage/pre-assembly/staging/barge-loading areas, then barged to European specialized erection ships for erection of the windmill systems. The financing would be mostly by European pension funds, that pay benefits to European retirees.
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Hundreds of people in each seashore state would have jobs during the erection phase
The other erection jobs would be by specialized European people, mostly on cranes and ships
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Hundreds of people in each seashore state would have long-term O&M jobs, using mostly European spare parts, during the 20-y electricity production phase.
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Conglomerates owned by Euro elites would finance, build, erect, own and operate almost all of the 30,000 MW of offshore windmills, providing work for many thousands of European workers for decades, and multi-$billion profits each year.
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That Euro ruse did not work out, because Trump was elected.
Trump hating Euro elites are furious. Projects are being cancelled. The European windmill industry is in shambles, with multi-$billion losses, lay-offs and tens of $billions of stranded costs.
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Trump spared the US from the W/S evils inflicted by the leftist, woke Democrat cabal, that used an autopen for Biden signatures, and used on-the-beach/in-the-basement Biden as an increasingly dysfunctional Marionette.
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Trump declared a National Energy Emergency, and put W/S/B systems at the bottom of the list, and suspended their licenses to put their glossy environmental impact statements, EIS, under proper scrutiny.
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Euro elites used the IPCC-invented, “CO2-is-evil” hoax, based on its own “science”. They used the government-subsidized Corporate Media to propagate scare-mongering slogans.
Wall Street elites saw an opportunity for tax shelters for its elite clients.
Woke politicians were “cut-in” on $juicy deals to pass subsidies, favorable rules and regulations, and impose government mandates.
Euro elites wanted the US to deliver electricity to users at very high c/kWh, to preserve Europe’s extremely advantageous trade balance with the US.
https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/international-trade-is-a-dog-eat-dog-business
HIGH COST/kWh OF W/S SYSTEMS FOISTED ONTO A BRAINWASHED PUBLIC
https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/high-cost-kwh-of-w-s-systems-foisted-onto-a-brainwashed-public
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What is generally not known, the more weather-dependent W/S systems, the less efficient the other, traditional generators, as they inefficiently counteract the increasingly larger ups and downs of W/S output. See URL
https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/fuel-and-co2-reductions-due-to-wind-energy-less-than-claimed
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W/S systems add great cost to the overall delivery of electricity to users; the more W/S systems, the higher the cost/kWh, as proven by the UK and Germany, with the highest electricity rates in Europe, and near-zero, real-growth GDPs
At about 30% W/S, the entire system hits an increasingly thicker concrete wall, operationally and cost wise.
UK and Germany have hit the wall, more and more hours each day.
The cost of electricity delivered to users increased with each additional W/S/B system
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Base-load nuclear, gas and coal plants are the only rational way forward, plus the additional CO2 is very beneficial for additional flora and fauna growth and increased crop yields to feed hungry people.
https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/we-are-in-a-co2-famine
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Subsidies shift costs from project Owners to ratepayers, taxpayers, government debt:
1) Federal and state tax credits, up to 50% (Community tax credit of 10 percent – Federal tax credit of 30 percent – State tax credit and other incentives of up to 10%);
2) 5-y Accelerated Depreciation write off of the entire project;
3) Loan interest deduction
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Utilities pay 15 c/kWh, wholesale, after 50% subsidies, for electricity from fixedoffshore wind systems
Utilities pay 18 c/kWh, wholesale, after 50% subsidies, for electricity from floating offshore wind
Utilities pay 12 c/kWh, wholesale, after 50% subsidies, for electricity from larger solar systems
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Excluded costs, at a future 30% W/S annual penetration on the grid, based on UK and German experience:
– Onshore grid expansion/reinforcement to connect distributed W/S systems, about 2 c/kWh
– A fleet of traditional power plants to quickly counteract W/S variable output, on a less than minute-by-minute basis, 24/7/365, which leads to more Btu/kWh, more CO2/kWh, more cost of about 2 c/kWh
– A fleet of traditional power plants to provide electricity during 1) low-wind periods, 2) high-wind periods, when rotors are locked in place, and 3) low solar periods during mornings, evenings, at night, snow/ice on panels, which leads to more Btu/kWh, more CO2/kWh, more cost of about 2 c/kWh
– Pay W/S system Owners for electricity they could have produced, if not curtailed, about 1 c/kWh
– Importing electricity at high prices, when W/S output is low, 1 c/kWh
– Exporting electricity at low prices, when W/S output is high, 1 c/kWh
– Disassembly on land and at sea, reprocessing and storing at hazardous waste sites, about 2 c/kWh
Some of these values exponentially increase as more W/S systems are added to the grid
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The economic/financial insanity and environmental damage of it all is off the charts.
No wonder Europe’s near-zero, real-growth economy is in de-growth mode.
That economy has been tied into knots by inane people.
YOUR tax dollars are building these projects so YOU will have much higher electric bills.
Remove YOUR tax dollars using your vote, and none of these projects would be built, and YOUR electric bills would be lower.
The abusive streak in me would have let them sink lots more money into the project before killing it.
At least they weren’t dumping gold bars 0ff the Titanic.