Interior Secretary Doug Burgum really stepped in it when he ordered Equinor to stop work at its Empire Wind offshore wind project. No, I’m not talking about the embarrassment of a Trump appointee issuing a stop-work order on a project that was greenlit during the first Trump administration. I’m talking about how Burgum stabbed a leading US oil and gas producer in the back.
Quick question: What does the Empire Wind offshore wind project have in common with the Penn Station Reconstruction Project? Wrong answers only…
Equinor gets a lot of props here at CleanTechnica for its leadership role in the global offshore wind industry, including offshore development here in the US. However, Equinor is also a diversified energy company neck-deep in the fossil energy industry, including here in the US. Make that especially here in the US.
“As a core country in Equinor’s international portfolio, the US presents a world-class opportunity set across oil & gas, renewable energy, and low-carbon value chains,” Equinor notes on its website. Equinor’s onshore footprint in the US dates back to 2009, and the company now bills itself as “one of the largest natural gas producers in the US.”
“We’ve invested more here than in any other country outside of our Norwegian home base,” they add.
You can say that again. “Equinor’s E&P [Exploration and Production] USA business has delivered over USD 5.5 billion in adjusted operating income after tax since the start of 2021,” Equinor explained in a press release last December.
The occasion of the announcement was an agreement between Equinor and the leading gas producer EQT Corporation, enabling Equinor to increase its position in the Marcellus shale gas formation, adding approximately 80,000 barrels of oil equivalent to Equinor’s daily production in the US. “Equinor will pay USD 1.25 billion to EQT in the transaction,” the company noted.
“The US is a core country for Equinor, where we have shaped a robust onshore and offshore oil and gas portfolio, alongside our activities in offshore wind, battery storage, and low-carbon value chains,” emphasized Philippe Mathieu, Equinor’s EVP for Exploration and Production International at Equinor.
How It’s Going…
Burgum imposed the stop work order on the Empire Wind project on April 16. Equinor was ready with a press release in response before the sun set on April 17.
“Equinor is a broad energy company with more than 35 years of history in the US. Equinor has invested more than 60 billion USD in the US to date, including in oil, gas and renewables,” Equinor reminds everyone at the tail end of the press release.
Leading up to that tidbit of knowledge, Equinor reminds the reading public that the federal lease for the Empire Wind project was “signed with the US Administration in 2017.” Doing the math, that was indeed during the first year of President Trump’s first term in office.
Equinor also notes that a lot of money is at stake. They cite a gross book value for Empire Wind of approximately $2.5 billion as of March 31, including the sprawling onshore wind hub located at South Brooklyn Marine Terminal in New York, currently under construction.
“Total amount drawn under the project finance term loan facility per 31 March 2025 was around USD 1.5 billion,” Equinor adds. “Empire is in the process of ascertaining the impact on the project and project financing.”
“Empire is engaging with relevant authorities to clarify this matter and is considering its legal remedies, including appealing the order,” the company adds again for good measure.
Everybody Loves Offshore Wind
Equinor is not likely to pack up all its US oil and gas operations and go home, but arbitrarily halting a fully approved project in federal waters is not a good look when one is seeking to attract investors to the US.
“The irrefutable harm created by this action will send a chilling signal to any party investing in the U.S. market, all of whom rely on regulatory certainty,” noted Doreen M. Harris, President and CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.
“Stopping work on the fully federally permitted Empire Wind 1 offshore project should send chills across all industries investing in and holding contracts with the United States Government,” adds the Oceanantic Network, an organization that advocates for the US wind industry.
“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,” the organization continued, in a statement emailed to CleanTechnica.
The organization America’s Clean Power also chipped in its two cents. “Halting construction of fully permitted energy projects is the literal opposite of an energy abundance agenda. With skyrocketing energy demand and increasing consumer prices, we need streamlined permitting for all domestic energy resources. Doubling back to reconsider permits after projects are under construction sends a chilling signal to all energy investment,” they said.
Which Offshore Wind Project Is Next On The Trump Chopping Block?
Meanwhile, work continues apace on the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project, a massive wind farm under the umbrella of the leading US utility Dominion Energy.
Are they nervous? Maybe, maybe not. From a political point of view, Dominion could be shielded by its home in Virginia, where Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin holds sway. He supports the CVOW project and has confirmed his support for the state’s offshore wind industry multiple times.
It’s a different story in New York State, where Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul got an earful from the President after she refused to agree to halt the new — and highly successful — traffic congestion pricing plan in Manhattan. Unlike the Republican members of the US House and Senate, Hochul has aggressively pushed back against Trump’s unconstitutional power grabs, and those of his appointees.
In that context, the stop work order in Empire Wind is not a policy decision at all. It is simply another reflection of a malevolently incompetent Commander-in-Chief, who has bent the entire administrative state into a machine for revenge and retribution. Empire Wind is payback for a woman who dares to stand up to a tyrant.
Coincidentally or not (spoiler alert: not), on April 17 Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced that the Federal Railroad Administration has booted the Metropolitan Transportation Authority off the massive Penn Station Reconstruction project in New York City, which is currently in the planning stages.
For those of you unfamiliar with the Penn Station transportation hub, it was a work in progress from its birth in the 1960s, when it served as a tawdry waystation after the original, gorgeous 1910 facility was demolished. A makeover has been in process, and it is one of Governor Hochul’s showcase projects.
“In November 2021, Gov. Kathy Hochul unveiled a new plan to transform Penn Station into a first-class, commuter-first transit hub and revitalize the surrounding area,” the MTA notes on its website.
The project will now be placed in the capable hands of the Trump administration, through Amtrak and DOT.
However, in the same announcement DOT stated that it is “slashing” Amtrak’s funding for project development, purportedly to save $120 million. So, who’s gonna pay for project development? And does it really save any money to re-organize a project that is already years into the planning stages? Won’t that actually waste money? Will Tesla’s CEO helicopter in to save the day, just like he and his “DOGE” team have been doing for Trump all this year?
So many questions! If you have any thoughts, drop a note in the comment thread. Better yet, find your representatives in Congress and let them know what you think.
Image (cropped): Quick question: What does the Empire Wind offshore wind project have in common with the Penn Station Reconstruction Project? Wrong answers only (courtesy of MTA).