The Trump administration has rescinded a stop-work order that had temporarily halted construction of the Empire Wind 1 offshore wind project near New York. The decision clears the way for Equinor, the project’s developer, to resume building the $5 billion installation intended to generate electricity for the state.
According to a report by Just the News, the project had been paused for a month after Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued the order, citing concerns that the previous administration under President Biden had “rushed” the federal environmental review process. The pause sparked political and economic concerns, particularly due to the scale of the project and its associated job numbers.
Governor Kathy Hochul announced the federal government’s decision to lift the halt following discussions with the White House. She stated:
“I want to thank President Trump for his willingness to work with me to save the 1,500 good paying union jobs that were on the line and helping get this essential project back on track”.
https://justthenews.com/nation/states/center-square/trump-lifts-stop-work-order-new-york-offshore-wind-project
Empire Wind 1, which is being developed by the Norway-based energy company Equinor, is projected to deliver 810 megawatts of electricity—reportedly enough to power about 500,000 homes. The company said it welcomed the administration’s decision to allow construction to continue.
“We appreciate the fact that construction can now resume on Empire Wind, a project which underscores our commitment to deliver energy while supporting local economies and creating jobs,” said Anders Opedal, President and CEO of Equinor ASA.
Equinor had previously warned that it might abandon the project if the stop-work order was not lifted, citing construction delays that were costing the company up to $50 million per week. The company has already invested more than $2.5 billion in the development, which is approximately one-third complete.
The resumption of the project also follows legal and political tensions. New York and other northeastern states had filed lawsuits against the Trump administration, contesting its authority to indefinitely halt federal wind-energy approvals under an executive order issued on January 20. The legal challenges reflect broader disputes over the federal government’s role in regulating offshore wind development and its alignment with state-level clean energy goals.
Former President Biden’s administration had aimed to develop 35 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2030, starting with projects such as Vineyard Wind off Massachusetts. The Empire Wind 1 project is one of several large-scale efforts along the U.S. East Coast that form part of state and federal clean energy targets.
For now, the lifting of the stop-work order represents a significant step toward the project’s completion and a continuation of New York’s attempt at an energy transition, though broader debates over offshore wind’s environmental and economic implications remain active.
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Politics.
At least there is a deal for NY to allow natural gas pipeline projects to proceed.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-05-20/trump-u-turns-on-new-york-wind-farm-in-pipeline-deal-with-hochul
Yes. Two sides of a single compromise (deal), as shown by these near-simultaneous announcements:
I put together this map of Citygate prices by state form EIA data
https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/WJKep/1/
I was actually slightly surprised to discover that Pa. gas production didn’t result in lower prices. Obviously they pay for virtue in Massachusetts.
Personally, I think Kathy Hochul thinks good faith is a village in Pennsylvania. Having her cave on all pipelines and fracking first, then considering the wind project after she has delivered.
That’s not good news. Did I read this right? 5 billion dollars for 810 MW of power?
I like the $2.5B for 1/3 completion… Sounds like a 50% additional cost over the original estimate. Wind Costs (period) and produces nothing of value except subsidy payments.
They are lying. The offshore work is 2% complete with no steel in the water just some rocks. They include all the studies plus a new port to support multiple projects.
If your plan is to manipulate the project into failure, the least actual construction work done is the most profitable….
On site construction, you are probably, likely correct.
However, there is also offsite construction, manufacturing and assembly, etc., that gets feed into that number.
Transparency is lacking, so we really do not know the reality or what is real in many of these cases.
That’s $6,170 per KW of intermittent capacity that could be zero at most moments and maybe 40% of the nameplate capacity on an annual average basis.
NY State peaks around 35,000 MW and this project shoukd produce about 350 annually so the price impact might be very low. It is a big green token.
Empire Wind, 810 MW; turnkey capital cost $5 Billion; Bank loans $3 Billion; Investors $2 Billion;
Cost/kW = $5 Billion/810 MW = $6170/kW
https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/empire-wind-810-mw-turnkey-capital-cost-5-billion-bank-loans-3
New York State Utilities will pay foreign Owners 15.5 c/kWh for 20 to 25 years
New York State Utilities will mark this up before averaging it into their cost of purchased electricity.
Ratepayers and taxpayers ARE BEING SO SCREWED
.
Owners would have to charge at least 30 c/kWh for electricity from fixed offshore wind systems, if there were no subsidies, such as:
1) Federal and state tax credits, up to 50% (Community tax credit of up to 10% – Federal tax credit of 30% – 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 to reduce any taxable profits from whatever source.
Subsidies shift costs from project Owners to ratepayers, taxpayers, government debt
Utilities pay at least 15 c/kWh, wholesale, after 50% subsidies, for electricity from fixed offshore wind systems
Utilities pay at least 18 c/kWh, wholesale, after 50% subsidies, for electricity from floating offshore wind
Utilities pay at least 12 c/kWh, wholesale, after 50% subsidies, for electricity from larger solar systems
.
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
.
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.
If you intended insane, rather than inane, I would applaud.
The Insane have an excuse, but the inane are just stupid due to their own actions.
That’s a shockingly high cost. Works out at £4.6bn/GW – about 50% more than current North Sea projects. You could buy Korean nuclear for that (Barakah was $25bn for 5.6GW) – and get an 85-90% capacity factor.
It appears that Secretary Doug Burgum backbone is not so stiff after all.
Maybe he just got the outcome he wanted. “I am encouraged by Governor Hochul’s comments about her willingness to move forward on critical pipeline capacity.”. I amagine that the federal government won’t be funding the wind farm.
The Art of the Deal. A deal has to be good for both sides.—D Trump.
There is nothing about this “deal” that is good for our side, or taxpayers, or the general movement to promote sanity on environmental issues. This is a terrible deal and Trump should not have made it.
Gas is good.
Natural gas is domestic, low-cost, good and clean (no particulates), and has 60% efficiency in CCGT plants, plus the very low CO2 will contribute to increased greening of the earth and increased crop yields to feed 8 billion people.
WE SHOULD NOT EXPORT IT AS LNG AT ALL, IF WE WANT TO MAINTAIN ENERGY DOMINANCE LONGER
Please reconsider this, …
…in light of how the super-excess in NG-production is largely a byproduct of the barely adequate production of related petroleum —
— not only crude oil, but the NGLs (think ‘propane’, already priced and exported, comparable to refined oil).
Where do you propose to store this super-abundance of NG?
It’s a safety hazard … and no longer allowed to ‘flare’ it at the wellhead!
Oh boy, where do I begin to inform you?
I have been in the energy business as an engineer well over 40 years
Just take MY word for it.
Always listen to the Pros.
…and will be necessary.
Unless its just a bunch of “hot gas” coming from certain mouths.
We’ll see how long the farm lasts.
As we await, then watch the next hurricane or nor easter.
That’s what I was referring to.
I got that.
Well alrighty then.
Re “the federal government won’t be funding the wind farm”
That’s right. All the Feds (Interior / Burgum) had done, a month ago, was to pause the project in order to complete an impact review.
Now that the pause has been lifted … maybe a Pyrrhic Victory for NY/New England governors given the cost and local opposition / NIMBYism:
I don’t think there’s much resistance in Wokeachusetts to wind turbines at sea. Some, but not enough to stop it. But I hope I’m wrong.
The pipeline is coming very soon to rescue dysfunctional Mass and Connecticut and Rhode Island
Maybe- but this state is fanatic so I have some doubt. Which pipe? A big one was planned several years ago- really big- I think 60″ in diameter coming in from NY to MA, then up into NH to the coast. Resistance in western MA will be ferocious. Another one was planned to enter from NY along the existing one, then go south to the Springfield area and south to CT. What they should do is have one come in along the MA pike and go straight to Boston- right on the pike’s right of way. There’s plenty of room between the 2 parts of that road. It’s already cleared and in grass. Should be easy to do.
For anyone who opposes it, just go and rip the breaker box out of their house. Then see how long they like going without cheap, reliable electricity.
By various federal laws, the federal government and NY state government will pay enough subsidies so the Windmill owners can sell for 15.5 c/kWh, for 20 to 25 years, instead of 30 c/kWh, without any subsidies.
Never take the words spoken by a politician literally or even as an indicator of true purpose.
Don’t be too surprised if the Project ends up being more like 200 MW than 800 MW after the new price per kilowatt of > $0.15/KWh is agreed to before restarting the Project.
“I want to thank President Trump for his willingness to work with me to save the 1,500 good paying union jobs that were on the line and helping get this essential project back on track”.
Oh dear God, please tell me that Trump didn’t fall for that bit of gaslighting.
Those union workers can be put to work on the Mexican ship that lost power and floated backwards on the strong current and lost its mast and most of its rigging.
It will cost at least $100 million and several years to repair.
Big mouth, idiot Schumer said it was DOGE’s fault.
This windmill farm was already authorized so Trump may have thought they might lose in court so he did a deal to get pipelines into New England.
I believe Trump still intends to stop all windmills that are not already authorized.
Not to worry. The simple economics—realistic economics that is, not marketing “economics”—show the true infeasibility of offshore wind farms absent massive taxpayer subsidies.
Therein lies their inevitable demise.
As long as taxpayers don’t make a fuss, politicians will continue adding to our tax burden and directing tax dollars to their pet projects. Been this way for all time, until the peasants finally march on the palace with their pitchforks….then chaos reigns for a couple of generations…
Ah the rhetoric….
Scientists say….
…. our most vulnerable
And…
“good paying union jobs”
Someone once said “The power to tax is the power to destroy.”
Is the same true for the power to regulate? To tarriff? To subsidize?
A rose by any other name….
Hochul spokesperson says no pipeline deal
“No agreement was reached for a new gas pipeline,” DeMichele told Inside Climate News. “If you’re reading [Burgum’s tweet] as the governor changed her position on gas pipelines as a result of Empire Wind, that’s not true.”
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/20052025/trump-lifts-empire-offshore-wind-project-pause/
Curiouser and curiouser
David