Equinor said Monday that the Interior Department has lifted a stop work order on Empire Wind 1, a dramatic reversal by the Trump administration that breathed life into the 54-turbine project that had been on the brink of cancellation.
The reason for the turnaround wasn’t immediately clear. In a statement, Equinor CEO Anders Opedal thanked President Donald Trump for “finding a solution that saves thousands of American jobs and provides for continued investments in energy infrastructure in the U.S.”
Empire Wind 1 is central to New York’s climate and energy plans. The $5 billion project would connect directly into New York City’s power grid, providing enough electricity to supply 500,000 homes. It has been the focus of an intense international lobbying effort in recent weeks. Opedal and Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg met with White House officials to discuss the project last month.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said in a statement that “countess conversations with Equinor and White House officials” had yielded the deal.
“I want to thank President Trump for his willingness to work with me to save the 1,500 good paying union jobs that were on the line and helping get this essential project back on track,” Hochul said. “New York’s economic future is going to be powered by abundant, clean energy that helps our homes and businesses thrive. I fought to save clean energy jobs in New York — and we got it done.”
The move would amount to a stunning reversal for Trump, who has railed against offshore wind since returning to the White House. A White House spokesperson deferred comment to Interior, which could not immediately be reached for comment.
Hochul told Newsday that she held three conversations with Trump over the weekend, in which she pleaded with the president to save the project. The governor told the Long Island newspaper that she emphasized the 1,500 union laborers working on the project.
Trump has pushed for building new pipelines into New York. The governor did not mention pipelines directly in her statement but made an apparent reference to the issue, saying, “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. In order to ensure reliability and affordability for consumers, we will be working in earnest to deliver on these objectives.”
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum alluded to a pipeline deal in a post on X, which did not mention Empire Wind. “Energy Dominance is the foundation of America’s economic and national security,” he wrote. “I am encouraged by Governor Hochul’s comments about her willingness to move forward on critical pipeline capacity. Americans who live in New York and New England would see significant economic.”
Equinor secured a lease to build the wind farm south of Long Island in 2017. The Biden administration issued a final permit for the project in 2024. Equinor began work at a marine terminal in Brooklyn last summer. It had begun preparing to install the underwater foundations in March when, the following month, Burgum announced the stop work order. He cited a report from NOAA that he said showed Empire Wind 1’s approval had been rushed. He never released the report.
Equinor came close to walking away from the project, telling POLITICO’s E&E News on May 9 that it would be canceled if the stop work order was not lifted. Hochul told Newsday that she had pleaded with Equinor to give her a week to appeal to Trump directly to save the project. The Norwegian oil giant could yet walk away from the project. It said it would perform an updated assessment of the project’s economics in the second quarter.
“This project delivers on the energy ambitions shared by the United States and New York by providing a vital new source of power to the region,” said Molly Morris, president of Equinor Wind U.S. “Empire Wind brings supply chain investments in states across the nation including New York, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Texas and South Carolina.”
