U.S. Interior Department Lifts Empire Wind Stop-Work Order

In a surprising reversal, the Trump administration has lifted the stop-work order on New York’s Empire Wind offshore energy project. Norway’s Equinor issued a brief statement reporting that it has been informed by the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) that the order was lifted allowing construction activities to resume.

Equinor had threatened to walk away from the project while a concerted effort was underway to permit the project to proceed. Reports are indicating that a broad array of political pressure came from a wide range of fronts, all calling for the project, which was reported to be 30 percent complete, to proceed. Contractors working for Equinor were set to start the offshore work at the site when the Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum instructed BOEM on April 16 to suspend the license pending further review. It was alleged that information showed the permitting process had been rushed by the Biden administration, although all the permits were issued by mid-2024, and the financial decisions were made before the end of 2024.

Norwegian Finance Minister, Jens Stoltenberg, is reported to have participated in a meeting between Equinor and White House officials seeking to clarify the stop-work order and what would be required to resume work. Unconfirmed media reports, however, had said there was no clear indication at the end of that meeting.

New York State Governor Kathy Hochul had issued a strong statement condemning the stop-work order. Late on Monday, May 19, the Governor issued a statement on X saying, “I’ve been working with President Donald Trump to save this project and today learned we’ve been successful. Grateful for his partnership on projects that create jobs here in New York.”

Equinor, in its announcement, included a statement from Anders Opedal, President and CEO of Equinor ASA, highlighting the breadth of the coalition that had developed. In addition to thanking Donald Trump, Opedal cited the support of Governor Hochul for her constructive collaboration with the Trump Administration, New York City Mayor Adams, congressional leaders including Senator Schumer, Senator Gillibrand, Representative Garbarino, and Representative Goldman, as well as labor groups and other advocates that have maintained their steadfast support for the project. 

“I would like to thank the Norwegian Prime Minister Støre and Minister of Finance Stoltenberg for their support at a critical time, and that the Minister of Finance raised the situation with the U.S. administration,” added Opedal.

The restoration of Empire Wind 1 secures jobs for more than 1,500 construction workers, drives economic development, and advances one of the largest energy infrastructure undertakings in the past 50 years for New Yorkers, commented Doreen Harris, President and CEO of New York’s regulator NYSERDA.

Equinor had called the situation “urgent and unsustainable,” with reports it was costing the company $50 million a week. It had 11 vessels on standby and more than 100 people who had been scheduled to start the offshore portion of the project this spring. Equinor said it has invested about $2.7 billion so far in the project that was budgeted to cost $5 billion and would be liable to repay $1.5 billion in project financing as well as potential cancellation fees from suppliers.

After the stop-work order was lifted, Equinor reported that it will perform an updated assessment of the project economics in the second quarter. Empire Wind, it said, aims to be able to execute planned activities in the offshore installation window in 2025 and reach its planned commercial operation date in 2027. Empire reports it will engage with suppliers and regulatory bodies to reduce the impact of the stop-work order.

The project, which will be located 15-30 miles south of New York’s Long Island, will consist of up to 130 wind turbines. It will have a capacity of 2.1 GW.

News of the reversal is also likely to relieve some anxiety in the industry, which was surprised by the Trump administration's unexpected efforts to stop a project that was underway. The administration, however, is still reviewing the industry and has also taken steps to stop a pre-construction project in New Jersey by removing an EPA permit that impacted construction.