Stalled Offshore Wind Farm Gets a Reprieve Thanks to Wink-Wink Oil and Gas Deal

Stalled Offshore Wind Farm Gets a Reprieve Thanks to Wink-Wink Oil and Gas Deal

A month ago, the Trump administration abruptly shut down construction of a huge wind farm off the coast of Long Island that was already about 30 percent completed. The reasoning was ostensibly about requiring further review that the Biden administration failed to conduct; apparently that “review” could more accurately be called “extortion.”

Equinor’s Empire Wind is now back on again, apparently thanks to pressure from New York governor Kathy Hochul and what appears to be a sort of nudge-nudge “understanding” regarding oil and gas development. “After countless conversations with Equinor and White House officials, bringing labor and business to the table to emphasize the importance of this project, I’m pleased that President Trump and Secretary Burgum have agreed to lift the stop work order and allow this project to move forward,” Hochul said in a statement. “I also reaffirmed that New York will work with the Administration and private entities on new energy projects [emphasis added] that meet the legal requirements under New York law.”

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum also chimed in and made the quid pro quo a tad more clear: “I am encouraged by Governor Hochul’s comments about her willingness to move forward on critical pipeline capacity,” he said. “Americans who live in New York and New England would see significant economic benefits and lower utility costs from increased access to reliable, affordable, clean American natural gas.”

There is a chance this means the Constitution Pipeline, a project aimed at bringing fossil gas from Pennsylvania to New York and New Jersey blocked in 2020 on environmental grounds, might move forward after all. This is what “unleashing” American energy means under an Oil Administration, that a project that had four years’ worth of permits and approvals and was already being built is ground to a halt until some literal oil is used to grease the wheels.

Equinor — primarily an oil and gas company itself, of course — released its own statement confirming the stop work order had been lifted, and that construction on the project would resume.  “I would like to thank President Trump for finding a solution that saves thousands of American jobs and provides for continued investments in energy infrastructure in the U.S.,” said the company’s CEO Anders Opedal, eliding the fact that this was a “solution” in search of a problem.

It plans to complete most of the work this year, with a “commercial operation date” set for 2027. Assuming no other blatant extortion demands crop up, Empire Wind’s 130 turbines will provide power for half a million homes.

 
Join the discussion...