In an announcement on a social media post, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said yesterday that he had ordered BOEM to immediately halt all construction activities on the Empire Wind Project “until further review of information that suggests the Biden administration rushed through its approval without sufficient analysis.”
“As Governor, I will not allow this federal overreach to stand,” said New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul . ‘’I will fight this every step of the way to protect union jobs, affordable energy and New York’s economic future.”
“Every single day, I’m working to make energy more affoHrdable, reliable and abundant in New York and the federal government should be supporting those efforts rather than undermining them,” said Gov. Hochul. “Empire Wind 1 is already employing hundreds of New Yorkers, including 1,000 good-paying union jobs as part of a growing sector that has already spurred significant economic development and private investment throughout the state and beyond.
“This fully federally permitted project has already put shovels in the ground before the President’s executive orders—it’s exactly the type of bipartisan energy solution we should be working on.”
“Stopping work on the fully federally permitted Empire Wind 1 offshore wind project should send chills across all industries investing in and holding contracts with the United States Government,” said Liz Burdock, president and CEO of the Oceantic Network. “Preventing a permitted and financed energy project from moving forward sends a loud and clear message to all businesses – beyond those in the offshore wind industry – that their investment in the U.S. is not safe. We urge the Department of Interior to lift this order immediately to restore a predictable and equitable environment for the buildout of critical energy resources that help secure our energy future and independence.”
Equinor subsidiary Empire Offshore Wind LLC, meantime, is considering its legal remedies.
Here’s the full text of a statement released today by Equinor:
