The Administration has not yet explained the decision to allow the Empire Wind project to go forward. I suspect the following points apply:
- Attorneys advised, probably correctly, that the Administration would likely lose this case in the courts. Although the Secretary of the Interior has broad authority under OCSLA to suspend operations, he would need strong justification to do so indefinitely. Equinor has invested $billions in the project and their contractual rights would be difficult to abrogate.
- Equinor is 2/3 owned by the Norwegian govt, which engaged in diplomacy on Equinor’s behalf. Jens Stoltenberg, former PM of Norway and NATO chief, commented on X: “I commend the Trump Administration for our great cooperation in reaching an energy deal that allows Equinor to resume construction of Empire Wind. This will benefit both our countries & deliver energy to thousands of US households.”
- The project has strong support from trade unions.
- NY Gov. Hochul appears to have relaxed her position on gas pipelines: “I also reaffirmed that New York will work with the Administration and private entities on new energy projects that meet the legal requirements under New York law.”
A post on X by Protect Our Coast NJ summarizes the position of project opponents: “There are no words. There was a shocking announcement last night that the federal government reversed course on the Empire Wind Project. We were stunned to see this news. We believe that offshore wind anywhere is a terrible idea. And this project off New York and New Jersey lies in an especially important area—from a national security, environmental and economic perspective. We supported the President’s policy against offshore wind development. And we celebrated Secretary Bergum’s decision to stop the Empire Wind project a few weeks ago. At the time, he said Equinor ‘rushed through by the prior administration without sufficient analysis or consultation among the relevant agencies as relates to the potential effects from the project.’ What changed in the past six weeks? Offshore wind is an extremely expensive, inefficient and unreliable source of power. It harms wildlife, including some of the most endangered mammals on planet Earth. We will fight to protect our coastal and marine ecosystems from the devastation brought by offshore wind construction and operations. We won’t stop until every scrap of steel is removed from the ocean. And we will work to ensure that government officials fully understand the ramifications to public safety, commerce and national defense Empire Wind represents.“
There are also concerns among Norwegian investors about this project:
- Some investors who see the clean energy transition as a financial loser. A resolution proposed at the company’s annual shareholders meeting last week called for divesting from wind.
- There are growing calls within Norway to cancel Empire Wind, said Alexander Fløtre, head of offshore wind research at Rystad Energy, an Oslo-based energy consultancy.
- “There have been voices saying that Equinor has kind of been given an out here for a bad project,” Fløtre said. “It’s not a top project from a profitability perspective. At the same time, it’s so mature that I think Equinor still sees a lot of prestige in getting this done and have quite a lot of investments into it already.”
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 