Two major offshore wind power projects off Long Island have been stopped by the Trump administration, which suspended their leases on Monday.
Empire Wind and Sunrise Wind, located in the waters off Long Island, were two of five East Coast wind projects that received stop work notices from the U.S. Department of the Interior, as part of the Trump administration’s ongoing assault on renewable clean energy.
The reason cited for the lease suspensions was that the Pentagon complained that the wind turbine blades would cause radar interference and create a national security risk. In a statement from Department of the Interior, the halting of the wind projects is aimed at providing federal agencies “time to work with leaseholders and state partners to assess the possibility of mitigating the national security risks posed by these projects.”
This is the second time this year that the $5 billion Empire Wind project has been stopped by the federal government. It was halted in April by an order from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who claimed the Biden administration had rushed its approval, even though the lease for Empire Wind was approved in March 2017 during the first Trump administration. The project was restarted a month later the result of a compromise between the federal government and New York State to revive plans for the NESE gas pipeline project between Pennsylvania and New York that was cancelled five years ago, according to published reports.
President Trump has long railed against wind power, calling the turbines ugly and inefficient, a criticism that’s been echoed by Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who is now running for governor with Trump’s endorsement.
Gov. Kathy Hochul bashed the halting of the wind projects. “The Trump administration will look for any excuse to continue its assault on clean energy — and the thousands of good-paying jobs these projects bring — but there is no credible justification for this stoppage,” Hochul said in a statement.
Equinor, the company behind Empire Wind, said the project is more than 60 percent complete.
“In total, dozens of vessels, around 1,000 people, and more than a hundred companies in the U.S. and globally have been working in coordination on the Empire Wind project,” the company said in a written statement. “The stop work order threatens the progress of these activities and without a swift solution there may be significant impact to the project.”
Once completed in 2027, Empire Wind is expected to supply enough power to electrify 500,000 homes. The $700 million Sunrise Wind project, being developed by Ørsted about 30 miles off Montauk, is projected to create enough energy to power 600,000 homes. Both projects combined have created thousands of jobs.
Along with Sunrise, Ørsted also had its Revolution Wind project stopped. That project off Rhode Island, had been halted by the Trump administration in August, before a federal judge lifted the ban.
“Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind are both in advanced stages of construction and will be ready to deliver reliable, affordable power to American homes in 2026, with Revolution Wind expected to begin generating power in January,” said an Ørsted statement.
The company said it is “evaluating all options to resolve the matter expeditiously, together with its partners,” including “the evaluation of potential legal proceedings.”
The 90-day suspension of the leases can be extended by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
The move to suspend the wind projects has been slammed by state and local officials, trade groups and organized labor.
“Right in the midst of the holiday season, we learned that President Trump is once again pulling the rug out from under New York workers,” Hochul wrote in an op-ed published Tuesday by the Empire Report. “… The jobs building these wind farms aren’t just good union jobs that keep families afloat – they are also jobs that will create clean energy and keep energy costs down.”
Hochul added that the wind projects “reduce pressure on energy prices for families already stretched thin. And they anchor a robust offshore wind supply chain, from ports and manufacturers to electricians, ironworkers, and longshoremen who depend on these projects to keep working.”
David Winzelberg
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