Trump Administration Allows $5bn Offshore Wind Farm To Resume Construction
The Trump administration has reversed its stop-work order on Equinor’s $5 billion Empire Wind project, a major offshore wind farm off New York’s coast. The order, issued in April by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, referenced rushed approvals under the Biden administration as the reason for the order. Equinor warned the suspension was costing $50 million a week and jeopardizing the entire offshore wind sector in the U.S.. However, construction can now move forward, with commercial operation still targeted for 2027.
Governor Kathy Hochul, who held multiple calls with President Trump, played a key role in the reversal. “Thousands of jobs. Hundreds of thousands of homes powered by clean energy. That’s what Empire Wind 1 was poised to deliver,” she said. Hochul worked closely with labor groups, business leaders, and Norwegian officials to keep the project alive. Equinor CEO Anders Opedal thanked Trump for “finding a solution that saves thousands of American jobs.”
Equinor, which had already spent $2.7 billion on the project, said it would reassess the economics of Empire Wind in the next quarter and collaborate with regulators to recover from the month-long delay. Despite Trump's broader opposition to wind energy—marked by an executive order pausing all new permits—the administration’s announcement signals a possible path forward for high-investment clean energy projects that are already underway.
