Robert Besser
21 Apr 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C.: U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has ordered a stop to construction of Equinor's Empire Wind project off New York's coast. He said there might not have been enough environmental review before the Biden administration approved it.

Burgum posted on X that more review would be done but didn't give details about the issues found.

This decision is a big setback for Norway's Equinor and the growing offshore wind industry in the U.S., which Biden strongly supported as part of his clean energy goals.

Equinor said they got the stop-work order from the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which handles offshore energy permits. The company said it would speak with the government to understand the concerns but hasn't commented further yet.

Burgum said he spoke with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick before making the decision. The Commerce Department oversees the National Marine Fisheries Service, which is involved in approving offshore wind projects.

This halt comes from a review that President Trump ordered in January when he returned to office. Since then, wind energy companies have tried to show they support Trump's energy goals. Still, industry groups are unhappy with the stop.

Jason Grumet from the American Clean Power Association said stopping a fully approved project hurts efforts to grow energy supply and investment, especially when energy prices are rising.

The Empire Wind project got federal approval in November 2023 and began construction soon after. The site is 12 nautical miles (22 km) south of Long Island and is expected to power 700,000 homes a year.

Equinor said it has already spent US$2 billion of the planned $7 billion for the project. The rest would come from loans and tax credits. But now, some of those tax credits might be in danger, which could make the project less profitable.

An analyst in Norway said losing the tax credits would be a worst-case scenario for Equinor's shareholders.

The project, which is planned to start producing power in 2027, is a major part of New York's push to use less fossil fuels.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul said the project is already helping the state's economy and creating jobs. She criticized the federal decision, saying it threatened affordable energy and job growth, and promised to fight it.

Even as Trump's administration is trying to speed up approvals for other energy projects, this case shows that not all projects are safe from delays.

Equinor is also a major player in U.S. oil and gas, producing 341,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2024.